Roma's Story
by pokeninja6600
Summary: Roma is the daughter of White and N. But after her father disappears and her mother is killed, she is left on her own. She escapes and is constantly on the run to avoid her fate as the princess of Team Plasma. She meets Eva, who is attempting to conquer the League. Eva is the grandaughter of Agatha, originally from Kanto. What will happen? Read to find out, of course!
1. Chapter 1

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! This is my collaboration with Poke-Lover-88! For all you Roma-lovers out there (and there are, surprisingly a lot), she is in this story, however, I tweaked her a little bit. This will not be her actual back story (i plan on posting that later, maybe, if you ask sweetly) and Amy will not be in this one.**

**Roma: Hi everyone! I'm Roma...**

**Me: *face-palm* They know this.**

**Roma: *glares at me* Oh well. *turns back to face crowd* Anyways, I'm back! Poke-Lover created a new rival, oh correction, ****_friend _****for me. Eve will be in these as well because I couldn't survive without her. They don't own pokemon, only me, Eve and a new chick named Eva.**

**Me: So sorry for the uber long Author's Forenote, but you can read now. Remember to review!**

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**Roma's POV**

I was ten. Ten is a fragile age. It can make or break you. Thankfully, I don't break easily. But I still remember it clear as day.

***FLASHBACK***

I had just woken up when I heard my mom scream. I bolted out of bed, opened my door and slinked silently to a well-used and -known place below my parents' door. She was talking to my sitter in the room.

"Oh, Ms. White, I'm so sorry that this happened..."

I heard my mom sniffle and she said, "No, no, it's not your fault. He always wanted to explore the world and after his father betrayed him like that...(I heard a weak smile in her voice) I shouldn't have expected anything less from N... even with a daughter to raise."

I settled my nerves and opened the door. My mom was sitting on the bed with her head in her hands.

My mother, who showed no emotion, who was my rock when I was swimming endlessly, who was always ready to comfort me, who was Unova's freaking CHAMPION, now had to be comforted herself.

She looked up at me and tried to smile. "Hi sweetie." she said.

I wasn't interested in the small talk."What happened to dad?"

"Oh, well dear, he," she decided to be blunt with me. "Sweetie, N is gone. He's gone to, well, we don't really know. It's like, in five hours, your father has completely vanished off the face of the Earth. Like, POOF, and he's gone." she said. **(A/N: If you hadn't caught on by now, N is married to White and White and N are Roma's parents.)**

My world started to spiral slowly out of control. My dad was my role model. He taught me that pokemon are not tools. He taught me how to communicate with pokemon. My dad was everything to me and suddenly, with no explanation, he disappears.

Then, only two weeks later, my mom dies. Before she left on that cursed subway, mom gave me something. It was an Eevee statue.

"That is very special," she had said to me. "See the ruffles on its chest and the tip of its tail?"

I nodded. "They're silver. And the fur is gold. Your father wanted to give this to you on your birthday but, I guess that won't be happening. So I went to the vault (hahaha, my dad was a king!) and retrieved it so you could have it." mom said.

Then she pressed the Eevee into my palm and balled up my hand. "Keep it with you wherever you wander, okay? Promise me that, sweetie." I nodded and held the Eevee close to my heart. Then she kissed my forehead and was off.

She was shot. She had gotten on the subway train and found a person aiming a gun at a little boy. She stepped in between the gun and the boy and reasoned the man into a battle. She won and the man wasn't happy. So he shot her and ran off.

The police found her, dead on the street with a bullet in her head, a day later. They said she didn't suffer, that she died immediately and probably didn't even know what happened.

Then a woman officer with blue hair knelt down to my level and gave me a cube on a string. She said this was the only thing that my mom had on her person at the time, besides her pokemon that were set free.

It was a bitter irony. My mom and dad met because mom refused to give up her pokemon. Now, she's gonna see him again after her pokemon were released. The lady started talking to another that looked just like her about me moving in with my uncle, Black.

That was when I ran. And I've been running ever since.

* * *

**Me: Okay, that turned out a lot darker than I expected.**

**Roma: ...**

**Me: hahaha okay then! So review in the little box below and I'll be very, very happy! Poke-Lover writes the next one from Eva (her OC's)'s POV. So enjoy it when I post it!**


	2. Chapter 2: Eva's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! This is from Eva's POV so it's a little bit lighter than Roma's bit. Uhhh...not really much to say, just that the Eevee statue White gave Roma was a representation of a real Eevee that had been released when that dude shot White. White's spirit was absorbed into the statue and it became real.**

**Roma: ...I still don't know what to say about that last chapter. This is a first for me. o_0**

**Me: hahaha yeah...anyways, we don't own pokemon, only Roma, Eve, Eva and the back stories! Read and remember to review!**

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**Eva's POV**

I shivered and pulled my jacket tighter around me, walking quickly as the wind whipped at my face. Unova was cold. I had been warned of this when I left but I never had imagined this type of cold.

I squinted at the sign on a building, praying it was a Pokémon center but once again, it was just some random business. I sighed and continued walking.

Another blast of wind hit me and my hair whipped around, stinging my face. I shook the black locks out of my eyes. Man Unova was cold; I thought Kanto was as cold as it got, but I was clearly mistaken.

I smiled to myself, remembering Kanto, my home; the place I had left only a few days ago. Was it only a few days ago? It felt like I had been gone for an eternity.

My hand found its way to my pocket and I touched the note tucked safely away. It was a note from my grandmother; she had written down her phone number and told me to call her if I ever needed anything.

I smiled lightly. My grandmother, Agatha, was my idol. She was not only an elite four member in Kanto, but she had raised me since I was born. She was the strongest woman I knew, and I looked up to her.

I again stopped and squinted at the sign on a building; just another high class store. I sighed, Castelia City was larger than I had ever imagined it being, and every store I passed by was much to upscale for my tastes.

I once again trudged forward. Just then a loud sound hit my senses. I froze, my eyes flicking back and forth and my hand instinctively made its way to my poke-balls. It turned out just to be a man noisily dragging a garbage can to the curb.

I sighed; I had grown more and more paranoid by the day in Unova. I figured this was because of all the warnings my grandmother had given me about the region.

* * *

"Now, Unova isn't like Kanto sweetheart, everything is different there" she had told me with a stern look.

Of course I knew Unova was different, that was why I had come here. My ultimate goal was to become an elite four member just like Agatha. However my Pokémon type choice differed from hers.

She had a love for ghost types while I, myself preferred dark types. She had told me I was insane but I had just laughed.

"Why do you want to go to Unova anyway?" she had asked me.

I had shrugged my shoulders, "I guess all of the great trainers are in Unova. And you know how much I admire Grimsley" I had added, smiling.

Of course I knew we had amazing trainers in Kanto; Red and Blue for example, but I believed the real talent was in Unova.

Agatha had shaken her head and said (I quote), "What you are doing is admirable dear...but stupid"

I chuckled to myself. My grandmother always had a way of giving backhanded compliments, so they didn't tend to bother me much anymore.  
I knew traveling to a completely different region all by myself was stupid, but maybe that's what made it so exciting.

_'Eva, you just need to ask for some stupid directions'_I thought to myself, trying to push down my pride.

I had been wandering around Castelia City in the dark for the past hour and I still hadn't found the Pokémon center.

I turned the corner and promised myself that I would ask the next person I saw for some directions. I heard another sound and my hand once again shot to my poke-balls.

_'Calm down you idiot'_I thought to myself as it once again was a harmless person doing a daily task.

I felt a tad on edge. I had left almost all of my Pokémon in Kanto and I felt almost naked with only two. Agatha had yelled at me for only choosing to take two but I had told her that travel was shocking for larger Pokémon, and most of mine were quite huge.

I once again shivered as a burst of cold wind hit my face, tucking my nose into the collar of my jacket.

I squinted and up ahead saw a large fountain. I wondered why it hadn't frozen over in this cold weather but my attention landed on a figure sitting near the fountain.

_'Oh good, someone I can ask for directions'_I said, again shivering but the thought of finding a warm bed spurring me to walk faster.

As I neared the figure I realized it was a girl, sitting crisscross on the ground.

"Um excuse me" I said, hesitancy in my voice.

She jumped and her head whipped back to look at me. I looked her over closely. She looked to be about my age and just a tad shorter than me. She had long silver hair that was tucked behind her ears.

She looked different than anyone I had ever seen but I figured maybe people in other regions just looked that way.

My eyes quickly skipped over to a creature sitting in front of her. It was an Eevee, no mistake there; I had grown up with tons of Eevees. However this one looked different. I leaned forward slightly and realized the coloring was off. The Eevee was gold, and its fur was shinier than any I had ever seen. I thought for a moment.

_'No, that's not what a shiny Eevee looks like. This one is simply unique'_I thought to myself.

"Um, can I help you?" the girl asked, sounding confused.

I realized I had been standing there, staring at her Pokémon for a good minute or two and hadn't actually addressed the girl.

"Oh yes, sorry. Um, can I ask you for directions to the nearest Pokémon center?" I asked.

She slightly smiled, "Sure. My name is Roma by the way." she said, holding out her hand.

I gave her a smile back as well and shook her hand, "Thanks, my name is Eva"

* * *

** Roma: *face-palm* She couldn't find her way to a Poke center...**

**Me: *takes rolled up newspaper and smacks Roma* Shush! You've lived there all your life and had been on the road for _years. _Cut her some slack.**

**Roma: *rubbing the back of her head* Bi***. Anyways, review so Ninja will stop smacking me.**

**Me: Oh, Jazzy, if you're reading this, Roma is kinda modeled after you, too.**


	3. Chapter 3: Roma's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! I forgot to mention that Poke-Lover-88 wrote the last chapter. So she did.**

**Roma: We don't own pokemon, get over it. *turns to me* Ima go sharpen my fire sword.**

**Me: *waves her off* Okay, don't kill anyone.**

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**Roma's POV******

_'Wow. The girl must be super new if she can't find her way to a Poke center, for cryin' out loud!' _I thought. Then I noticed her shiver. I grinned.

"Cold?" I asked.

She looked at me, then at her jacket. "Yes," she confessed. "Very, very cold."

I shook my head. "You think it's cold now, wait until winter." I said, noting the look of horror on her face. I smiled; it's always fun, messing with newcomers.

"So, how'd you end up sitting with the Eevee,"

"Eve." I interrupted.

"in front of the fountain?" she finished. I could tell she was used to talking through distractions.

"Nope. Not telling you yet." I said, an air of finality in my voice.

"I came here to explore. I'm originally from Kanto. My grandma's Agatha; she raised me since I was a kid and she's my role model. She's an Elite Four." Eva said, pride touching the words about her grandma.

"You must think very highly of her. I know some people down here do. Grimsley's nearly infatuated with her." I murmured. _'Shit. Said too much.' _I thought remorsefully.

"hey, so do you know anything about the Eevee legend?" she asked amiably. I raised an eyebrow.

"Nooooo...should I?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Well, it goes like this. Once," she started.

I cut her off. "We're here. Castelia's Poke center." I said.

She shrugged. "Okay. Are you just gonna stand there or are we gonna go in, hm?" she asked.

I was surprised. Why would I need to go in with her? Did she maybe need help checking in? Or did she just want some company?

"Why would I need to go in with you? Do you need help getting checked in?"

She turned red. Then she nodded. "Yes. I don't quite know how to do this..." she said, trailing off.

I let a smile pull at my mouth. A Trainer girl who didn't know how to check into a Poke center? Nice. So I shrugged and headed to open the door when Eve barked. I looked down at her.

She whimpered and tugged at my pant leg. No, it couldn't be... I looked around. Then, I saw two blue haired women. I grabbed Eve in my arms, grabbed Eva's hand and dove into the nearest body of just so happened to be the ocean.

* * *

Eva was startled. "What in Arceus' name was that for?!" she said. We were floating in the ocean. Well, Eve and I were floating. Eva was struggling to keep adrift.

"Those women were the police." I answered simply.

"So?" Eva said. "What are you, a wanted criminal or something?" I thought on that for a moment.

"Technically, no. I am however, wanted by the police. So, water being my preference, I dove into the first thing of water I could find. And that just happened to be an ocean." I replied casually.

Eve had dove underwater a few minutes earlier and now popped back up as a Vaporeon. Eva looked at the Vaporeon and screamed.

"GAH! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" she shouted. I clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Ssh! It's Eve. Reshiram, you need to settle down. She undergoes a transformation most commonly known as evolution when she dives under a specific element. Like, if she dove under lava, she'd _evolve _into a Flareon. Or, if she jumped into a leaf pile, a Leafeon. Of course, for things you can't jump into, such as ice, she dives into cold water and a Glaceon would appear." I said.

Eva looked startled. "Evolution symbiosis," she murmured quietly. It was my turn to be startled. _'How in the name of Victini does she know that term?' _I thought.

She grinned. "I study a lot. I mean, a LOT." I smiled.

"I think we've found a new friend, Eve!"

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**Me: Okay, that's it!**

**Roma: Remember to review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Eva's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): hie everyone! This is the fourth chapter! Ummm...I'm not too creative with these names, as you can surely tell.**

**Roma: *huffs angrily***

**Me: She's mad cause this chapter makes her sound bipolar (in her opinion anywho). C'mon Roma! PLEASE! *puts on Eevee face***

**Roma: *rolls eyes* Fine. They don't own pokemon, only Eva Eve and me. *turns to me* Happy?**

**Me: *ruffles her hair* Yes I am, miss grumpy pants. Okay, remember to review! If you review, you save an Eevee! So review!**

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What had I gotten myself into? I had obviously picked a person that was… well…. unique, to ask for directions.

I sputtered slightly, trying to stay afloat in the ocean the girl named Roma had pulled me into. My doubts were creeping up on me about Roma but when she had told her Eevee they had made a new friend I felt a small smile grace my features. I sure could use a friend.

"So, how long do we have to stay in here?" I questioned. I had never too much cared for water, and for some reason the skill of swimming had eluded me my entire life.

"Until the police go away." Roma said, making it sound like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

I could tell I wasn't making the most favorable impression when it came to basic knowledge. She had seemed shocked when I needed help checking into a Pokémon center, and yes, even I had to admit it was a little sad.

I peeked over the small dock and saw the two Jennies walk out of the Pokémon center.

"Okay, now we can go" Roma said happily, easily crawling out of the water.

I had a little bit more troubles but with a bit of help was standing on the dock as well.

"Oh wow," I whispered as I saw Eve also standing on the dock, shaking off some water. She wasn't a Vaporeon any longer, but had returned to her normal Eevee state. I smiled and wondered what it would take for her to change into an Umbreon. My eyes sparkled at the mention of such a beautiful Pokémon but I was quickly brought out of my thoughts.

"Oh good Arceus!" I exclaimed as another blast of wind hit me; but being wet on top of it was sure not helping the frigid temperature.

Roma laughed, "Come on, frosty!" she said, dragging me towards the Pokémon center.

We walked up to the front desk and Nurse Joy happily greeted us.

"Listen, I need a room here as well. And honestly, I'm afraid you might accidentally kill yourself trying to use a hair dryer or something if I leave you alone, so why don't we share a room tonight," she said, lightly chuckling.

I gave her a glare but shoved some wet money onto the counter.

Nurse Joy gave Roma the key and she twirled it around her finger as we walked down the hall.

* * *

"I still can't believe you didn't know how to check into a Pokémon Center for goodness sake!" she said, shoving the key into the door.

"Hey, I know how to check into a Pokémon Center, I just thought it might be different in a different region." I said, trying to defend myself.

She laughed, "Whatever you say!"

As we walked into the Pokémon Center room, I sighed. It looked identical to the ones in Kanto and it brought me some sort of odd comfort.

I walked into the bathroom and changed out of my soaking wet clothes, silently cursing the Nurse Jennies that had caused Roma to pull me into the ocean. I exited and realized Roma had changed as well and was sitting on one of the beds. Eve happily jumped up on the bed beside her and Roma smiled down at her Pokémon.

I hung up my wet clothes and sighed, wringing out my hair but stopped as I felt someone's stare. I peeked back over my shoulder and saw Roma intently watching me with a confused look.

"So what's your deal?" she asked.

I made a face, "What do you mean by deal?"

"You know, like why are you here. You obviously aren't comfortable with any of this" she said, motioning around her, "so what brings you here?"

"Well, for your information I have only been in Unova for like," I paused, remembering, "two days, so I am still getting used to some stuff. Unova is actually really technologically advanced." I added, raising my eyebrows, noting the lack of technology in Kanto.

Roma chuckled, "Yes, but _why_ are you here?"

I scoffed, "Why are you here?"

Roma gave me a look and I realized how childish I had sounded. Man, I really wasn't making a good impression!

"Well, I'm here to…. " I paused, not knowing how to answer her question, "I mean I'm here to check out a new region. I'm interested in becoming an Elite Four member just like my grandmother, and so what better place to start than Unova" I said, sitting down on the bed beside Roma's.

She nodded.

"So what's your deal?" I asked.

She lightly smiled.

"Well, I actually want to become a breeder."

I nodded, "Cool"

"And, I am pretty close to becoming and Eevee master as well" she said and her face lit up.

"What's that?" I asked.

"To become and Eevee Master, you have to beat all the region's Leagues using only Eeveelutions."

"Wow, that sounds tough."

She nodded, "I am almost done, but still have to beat the Unova League. The only one I have left...That's sort of why I'm here" she said with a smile that kinda turned out like a grimace.

"So I take it you have other Eevees?" I said, watching Eve as she curled up on the bed.

Roma shook her head and my eyebrows shot up, "Nope, just Eve at the moment."

I nodded, "Eve sure is special."

We sat in silence for a while but Roma finally broke the quiet.

"So I take it you are a Pokémon trainer if you want to become an Elite Four member."

I nodded.

"You should let out your Pokémon; it's cruel to keep them in pokeballs all the time."

I scrunched my eyebrows together but agreed and took out one pokeball.

My Houndour appeared and Roma smiled down at the dog; but her face soon turned sour.

"You only have one Pokémon?" she asked with disdain.

I shook my head, "No, I brought two" I said, setting the other pokeball on the bed beside me.

"Aren't you going to let it out?" she questioned.

"No, I think it best to leave it in its ball." I said.

My other Pokémon; also my first; was an Absol. People never took too kindly to Absols because of the stories about how they trigger disasters; so I tended to leave him inside his pokeball around strangers.

"So you have two Pokémon then." she said, looking at me skeptically.

I chuckled, "No, I just left the rest in Kanto."

She smiled, "So I take it you like..." she paused, watching Houndour, "Fire types?"

I shook my head, "Nope, dark types are my specialty. What about you?"

"Well, Eevees of course, but I prefer water type Pokémon to other Pokémon." she said, patting Eve on the head.

I then realized exactly how much I had told Roma already. I had basically blabbed my entire life story right after I met her and realized I didn't know a thing about the girl across from me.

"So what's your history? I've already told mine, so how about you?" I asked, putting a smile on my face. I sort of hoped her answer would explain her odd behavior around the police as well.

She shot a glare at me and I could tell I had touched on a sensitive subject.

"I don't want to talk about it!" she snapped.

I held up my hands in defense, "Alright, suit yourself."

Roma and I talked for a little while about Pokémon. I was excited to realize she knew almost just as much about Pokémon as I did. We were so different, Roma and I, but somehow we were quite similar. And I realized that what she said when we were floating in the ocean was true.  
I had made a new friend.

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**Me: Okay, that's it! I write the next one. It'll be up soon as well.**

**Roma: Remember to review in the little review box!**


	5. Chapter 5: Roma's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! Nothing to say about this chapter except that I wrote it. Actually, you guys should be able to tell because I write in a different spacing then she does. And from Roma's POV. I don't own pokemon, only Eve and Roma. Poke-Lover technically has rights to Eva. Okay, that's it!**

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**Roma's POV**

I lay on the bed that night, not able to sleep. I really should get some sleep. I hadn't slept for, what, four days? Oh, it doesn't matter. I could be completely exhausted and still unable to sleep. The nightmares are recurring.

I cautiously closed my eyes. And, a heartbeat later, I was asleep. And the nightmares started.

* * *

***during the nightmares***

_I was standing behind a woman who stepped in front of me. She was so brave! The scary man had been about to shoot me because I wouldn't give up my Ducklett. Now she was battling him. She made short work of him. I thought he would run away but instead he aimed the gun and shot the nice lady! The lady dropped to the ground, limp and dead as could be. I sniffed. The poor lady! She didn't deserve this. I took a look at her face. Oh, no..._

_Then I was floating above the earth, surveying as a woman got shot by a member of the team I used to lead. I sighed; wouldn't they have gotten over it already? Wait, that women is...was..._

_Then I was myself. Roma. '_Good. This is very good._' Then I realized I was standing in a familiar restaurant. I had come here many times, under many aliases, to stare at a particular waiter...Oh, great Legendary Dragons, he's coming over here! WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoI...'_May I help you?' _he said. I stammered and as soon as I was about to talk I heard, '_Stop! That girl has to be taken into our custody!' _Oh, no! It's them!_

* * *

I felt someone shaking me awake.

"Roma! Roma!" the voice said.

I opened my eyes to see sunlight streaming through the window. I saw Eva kneeling next to my bed.

"Are you okay?! You were screaming in your sleep!" she said, worry lacing her voice.

I sat up and saw the sheets at the end of the bed. I felt my face and felt sweat covering my face. I dropped my head and looked at my pajamas. They too were drenched in sweat. I smiled slightly.

"So sorry. Must have given you quite a fright there, huh?" I said dryly.

She nodded vigorously. "I woke up to a blood-curdling scream! Yeah, you scared me!" she said.

I got up, changed my clothes and tied a bandana around Eve's neck. "C'mon. Let's go. We've got to get a good start this morning if we're gonna get to a Straition by lunch." I said.

Eva was already dressed so we grabbed a few apples and made our way out of Castelia.

* * *

In a matter of hours, we were standing in front of the Stration Gym/restaurant. I had explained about it to Eva.

"For the last time, Eva, yes it is a Gym!" I said, exasperated by her peppiness. She was jumping anout singing, "I'm gonna get a Gym badge! I'm gonna get a Gym badge!" over and over.

Finally, I walked up to her, grabbed her shoulders and, with the help of gravity, forced Eva to stay on the ground. Honestly, if I'd have known she would have been so...so..._odd_, I wouldn't have stayed with her! I shook my head at the hopelessness of this dark type specialist.

"Remember. There are three Gym Leaders. They battle each with an elemental monkey and a Lillipup. Shouldn't be too difficult." I reminded her.

She just shrugged and raced in the door. I followed her cautiously. The last thing I needed was for anyone to...

"Roma! C'mere! I found the Leaders!" Eva shouted.

...recognize me. Reshiram, this girl was hard to control. I walked over and saw Eva trying to fight her way through a bunch of pretty, rich girls with boobs. I rolled my eyes and walked over. I grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

I cleared my throat. "Excuse me," I said, using the tone of voice Ghestis taught me to use when I wanted people's attention. The girls looked at me.

"I have a challenger for the Gym Leaders here." I said.

"So?" one of the girls rudely asked.

I narrowed my eyes. "So, I need you to move. Much as I think the triplets prefer this, they have a duty as Gym Leaders to battle my friend here. And I would like a battle as well." I said icily.

The girls moved to the sides and I saw the three boys. I smiled.

"Hi." I said. Then I turned to Eva.

"The one with green hair is Cilan. He specializes in Grass types." He bowed.

"At your service," he said rather quietly.

"The ginger is Chili. He prefers Fire type Pokemon." Chili mock saluted.

"At your service!" he chimed, a devious fire in his eye.

"And, lastly, Cress. He likes Water type Pokemon most, much like myself." I said.

Cress bowed also and said, "At your service, madames."

Eva looked them all over. Then she turned to me and whispered something. I frowned, thinking about it.

"I don't know...Maybe." I answered, shrugging. Eva grinned and rubbed her hands together.

"Hahaha! If there's even the slightest possibilty..." Then she turned to the waiters/Gym Leaders. "Okay, so I was wondering if Roma and I.."

"Wait, Roma?!" Chili asked increduosly. Cilan fell over anime-style and Cress lost his breath.

"Did you say Roma?!" Cilan demanded. Eva nodded.

"YES! AWESOME!" Chili shouted, lunging for me.

I leaped back. "DAMMIT EVA!" I shouted, running out of the Gym.

* * *

**Me: Ooh...what will Poke-Lover do with this?**

**Roma: Beats me. It irks me that Eva just went and blew my cover like that...**

**Me: Oh well. You'll get over it.**


	6. Chapter 6: Eva's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! Sorry for spelling "hi" wrong on the last one...Thank you to Malory79080 and Poke-Lover-88 so far for reviewing.**

**Roma: Oh, I like this chapter...They don't own pokemon, only me, Eve and Eva. It has my approval, so enjoy!**

* * *

I froze, my eyes flitting from the door, then to the three boys, to the door, then the boys.

What the hell had just happened?

I quickly turned back to the triplets with a questioning glance, hoping they would answer my questions. Much to my dismay their attention was off of the current situation and back onto the girls, which were crowding around them again.

"Wh-wa" I stuttered, still overwhelmed.

"Hey!" I yelled, frustrated that I wasn't getting any answers.

The girls jumped and gave me glares as they once again slowly moved to the side.

"Can we help you?" The boy named Cilan asked.

"Uh, yeah! What just happened? I mean, how did you guys know her and why were you so excited?" my words came out in a jumbled mess and I hoped that they could still understand.

"Well…" Cilan started, "We have seen her before, but-"

"We were excited to see her for one reason, but I bet Cress was excited for another!" Chili interrupted, nudging the blue haired boy who suddenly looked peeved. He blushed slightly and quickly walked out of the room.

I sighed in frustration; these people weren't helping at all.

"You obviously aren't from around here or you would know why we were so surprised." Cilan said calmly, walking towards me.

I quietly waited for him to go on, "Well, you see-"

"ROMA'S A PRINCESS!" Chili shouted and smiled.

My eyes widened, "What?"

Cilan rolled his eyes, "You're making it sound weird. Well, Roma is…. well you see she was the daughter of a man who was considered a king. He was the head of Team Plasma."

I paused, "Wait, wasn't that the organization with all the people preaching about how people need to let their Pokémon go?" I asked, remembering an announcement over the TV in Kanto, where a green haired man had a speech about all of the cruelty being done to Pokémon by humans.

Cilan nodded, "So she is technically what some would call a princess. Why we were so surprised was because no one has really seen her in…. years."

Wow, I had certainly picked an interesting person to ask for directions. I had picked a girl who was related to someone in Team Plasma, someone who had a very special Eevee, someone who apparently had night terrors, and now… someone who was considered a princess.

I tapped my finger on my chin, "So could that be why Roma is a little skittish around the police?"

Cilan shrugged, "Who knows, I know people have been looking for her, but I don't know about the police"

I suddenly felt really bad about blurting out Roma's name; even if I didn't know it would cause a problem.

I sighed and began walking towards the door to the gym, determined to find Roma and apologize. I smiled lightly. I had been being quite hyper that morning, so excited about getting a gym badge, and I hadn't really considered not telling people her name. I figured with all the excitement Roma probably figured it was my first gym battle.

I laughed out loud at that. I had conquered both the Kanto League and the Johto League, but somehow the thought of a gym badge still but me in high spirits.

I peeked around the side of the gym and saw Roma sitting against a tree. I briskly made my way over to her and quietly sat down.

"I'm sorry Roma" I said softly.

She shook her head, "No, it's alright, you didn't know."

I smiled at the quick forgiveness.

"Wait, the gym leaders in there said they knew you..." I said, still wondering how.

Roma smiled, "Yeah, I ate at their restaurant a few times before"

I nodded, "How about we go back inside?" I questioned, the thought of a gym badge spurring me on.

She hesitated, and looked around, but finally after a few agonizing minutes she nodded and stood up, brushing some grass off of her.

We both walked back inside of the gym and once again the boys seemed flabbergasted. After a few minutes of Cilan holding Chili back from tackling Roma he calmed down and I think everyone sighed in relief that apparently everything was fine.

"So…. how about that gym battle?" I asked.

"How about you two join us for dinner first, we could use some catching up" Cilan said calmly, adjusting a towel on his arm.

"Awwwww..." Both Chili and I whined.

"Yes, I agree, dinner would be nice" I heard a voice say. We all turned to our left to see Cress calmly walking back into the room.

"So, shall we?" he asked, making eye contact with all of us but his gaze ultimately landing on Roma.

I scrunched my eyebrows together when I saw a slight coloring on her cheeks.

"Yeah" she said quietly, as Cilan ushered us all into a large dining room.

* * *

**Me: Ooh...Roma's got a CRUSH!**

**Roma: *brings out her fire sword* NINJA!**

**Me: *yelps* EEEIIIYYEEEAHHH! help me! please review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Roma's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! How are all of you? Good. So this'll be about uhh...stuff, I guess. Maybe just a filler, not quite sure yet.**

**Roma: *walks into my Study cussing up a blue streak***

**Me: What in the name of the Legendary Dragons are you so mad about?**

**Roma: Oh, nevermind. *walks out***

**Me: *whistles* You're not weird at all...**

* * *

**Roma's POV******

So, we were all ushered by Cilan into the dining room area. Chili and Cress had gone into the kitchen and were cooking up a storm.

"Arceus, what are they making in there? It sounds like they're cooking enough for the whole region of Unova!" Eva exclaimed. I smiled and glanced down at my feet.

Eva had plopped down on a couch with Cilan and I had taken a seat in front of a fireplace. I was sitting cross-legged and started absentmindedly stroking Eve. Not that she minded, Eve always loved being petted.

I started to hum softly and realized the conversation between Eva and Cilan had stopped. I stopped humming and turned to look at them.

Puzzled, I asked, "Hey, whatcha looking at?"

Eva smiled and Cilan just flat stared at me. I was still confused. I scrunched my eyebrows together in a question and Eva laughed.

"You're a really good singer, Roma!" she said joyously. I rolled my eyes.

"I see you're not much one for back-handed complements like Agatha," I muttered. Eva grinned.

Then Chili came out and said, "Hey, we've almost got it done. Cress is being all OCD again so you guys may wanna sit where you're gonna eat. Just a recommendation."

We all got up and sat down at a table that seemed specifically designed for small crowds. A few minutes later, Cress popped his head out the door connecting the dining room and the kitchen and beckoned for Chili and Cilan. They walked over and began serving out the food!

Eva watched, amazed, as the boys worked wordlessly, but in total sync. I just sat back and grinned.

"Is it always that...you know, awesome?" She asked, awe lacing her voice through and through.

I shrugged. "Some times are better than others," I replied softly. "The only thing missing is the 'How may we help you' that the boys usually say as they come to take your order."

After all the food was set out and the boys seated, we dug in.

* * *

"Holy Giratina, that was AWESOME!" Eva shouted after we were done eating.

I nodded and noticed that Cress turned red. Cilan got a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Well, I've yet to determine..." he started.

"SHUT UP!" Cress, Chili and I shouted simultaneously. Eva started and shouted. I smiled sweetly at her.

"He was about to do 'evaluation time'," Chili said with a shiver. "If you've never seen it before," Cress started. "Then you don't want to." I finished. We looked at each other and our eyes locked. I caught my breath and looked away.

"Thank you for your hospitality boys, but we really must be going," I said, standing up.

"WAIT!" Chili shouted. I turned around.

"I still wanna know why you lied to us." he said.

"And how you managed to deceive us. Well, more, how you managed to fool Cress." Cilan said curiously.

Cress stiffened. I grinned devilishly. "Oh, I couldn't fool him. I could never fool Cress. He knew who I was the instant I walked in to your restaurant the first time. You were much easier to fool. All I had to do was keep Eve dressed in these stupid clothes, assume a different name and keep my eyes covered." I said, grinning.

"And now, I'm afraid, we truly must be leaving. Thanks again for the dinner. We shall see you tommorow for the battles. For now, I take my leave." I said. "C'mon Eva. We have to go get you checked in."

* * *

A few hours later, after dodging the police and checking in under an alias, Eva and I were sitting in nice, warm pajamas on the beds in the poke center. I was laying on my back, fiddling with Eve's tail.

"So, what's up with you and Cress? Like, are you guys an item? Have you kissed yet?" Eva asked.

I sighed, "Oh, I wish...He doesn't know that I fancy him. He was always my favorite Gym leader. He's basically the entire reason why I like water types." I paused. Eva smiled at me and told me to keep going.

***Flashback***

_I was swimming with Eve in a pond behind the Gym. Then he walked out. _

"Hi." _he said gently._

_I looked up and saw him in only trunks. I sputtered and ducked underwater. _

"What are you wearing?!" _I said after coming back up. He grinned sheepishly and, in response, jumped into the water!_

***End Flashback***

Before I knew it, I was spilling my guts to this girl. I had known her for, what, a few hours, a day at most and I was spilling everything about me to her. I subconsciously reprimanded myself but I didn't listen to my inner self.

* * *

"And then, she died. She was shot trying to defend her beliefs. The police found her a day later. An Officer Jenny came to the castle and gave me this." I took the cube from around Eve's neck and twirled it.

I sniffled and blinked back tears. I looked at Eva and saw she was struggling to fight back tears too. I continued on with my story and once I was done, I broke out sobbing.

I sobbed and I sobbed. I cried my heart out for my lost mom, my lost dad, my lost Pokemon over the years. I cried and I cried and I cried until I could hardly breathe. Eva had come and sat next to me and hugged me until I stopped weeping.

Finally, I did. I stopped crying and wiped my face on my sleeve. I hugged Eva and thanked her until I drifted off into a blissful, nightmare-less, dream-less sleep.


	8. Chapter 8: Eva' POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi all! Chapter 8 already?! Wow. Huh, cool. For those of you who reviewed, thank you so very much! You're reviews save an Eevee and boost our self-esteem!**

**Roma: Yep! Thanks to all of you that did review, it makes all of us so happy!**

**Me: Okay, we don't own Pokemon, only our OC's Roma, Eve and Eva! Thanks and remember to review!**

**Eve: Eeeeveee!**

* * *

I blinked my eyes slowly as I awoke the next morning. I glanced over at Roma, who was still sleeping, an unusually peaceful look on her face.

I smiled slightly, putting my hands behind my head and staring at the ceiling.

Her story was heart wrenching; I couldn't believe someone could've gone through that and not be bitter towards life in general.

I sighed, my smile widening. I felt almost proud that she had confessed those things to me. She felt comfortable around me; maybe we were really friends.

I glanced over at her. I had to admit as much as I was glad she was sleeping well, I was more glad that she hadn't woken up screaming like she had the other night we spent together.

"Arceus," I whispered to myself, remembering how terrifying that had been.

I sat still, not wanting to wake her up for about an hour but at the remembrance that we were having a gym battle today, couldn't contain my excitement.

I jumped out of bed and skid over to shake Roma awake.

"Roma, Roma" I said, shaking her shoulder.

Her eyes quickly flew open, "What, what's wrong?" she asked frantically.

I realized that she was probably the type of person who wasn't really ever awoken for good news, only bad and I frowned slightly.

"We have our gym battle today, and it's already suuuuper late!"

Roma leaned over and looked at the clock, sighing.

"Fine, but I don't think the gym is open yet,"

I shrugged and dashed over to my bag to grab a change of clothes.

_

"IT'S NOT OPEN YET?" I whined.

Man, gym battles really made me act weird.

Roma sighed, "I'm sure I can get us in early."

I gave her a confused look and she knocked loudly on the glass doors to the gym.

We waited for a few minutes, nothing happened. I began bouncing on my toes, patience wasn't my strong suit.

I soon saw a figure behind the door and a blurry eyed Cilan answered the door.

"The gym isn't open… oh. Hey you two. What are you doing here so early?"

"We are here for battles!" I said, leaning forward a bit, anticipation in my eyes.

Cilan nodded and ushered us in.

"You'll have to excuse all of this," he said, waving around. I saw a few stray items lying around, a pot here, a blanket there.

"We don't usually have guests this early!" I heard an irritated voice say from my left. I saw Chili with an unamused expression on his face, bending over to pick up a blanket.

"If it was up to me there wouldn't be any mess, but living with him," Cilan said, motioning over to Chili, "it seems to happen so easily."

I smiled to myself. I saw a flash of blue and I directed my attention to a doorway where Cress was slowly walking out, rubbing his eyes.

"Who's here? OH GOOD ARCUES!" he shouted as he realized it was Roma and I. He dashed back inside the room and I could already feel the blush on both Roma and my cheeks. He obviously hadn't expected the guests to be girls and had come out of his room wearing only boxers.

I looked over to Roma who was blinking rapidly, her whole face starting to turn a light shade of pink.

I giggled softly; she sure did have some feelings for that boy.

_

An hour later I found myself nervously drumming my fingers on the same table we had eaten at the past night. The three, or should I say two; boys had gladly made us breakfast, and it was just as delicious as last night's dinner.

I quietly wondered to myself where Cress had been, probably sulking with embarrassment.

"So you two are here for battles eh?" Chili said, a spark in his eyes.

"Sure are." Roma answered.

He turned to me, "So do you have any gym badges in Unova yet?"

I shook my head.

"Huh," he scoffed, "Then don't expect the one here to be your first."

"What?!" I half shouted, anger rising inside of me.

"I'm just saying, a newbie trainer is going to have a hard time getting a badge here." he said, running his fingers through his hair.

I growled. Me, a newbie trainer?

"Woah there, calm down Eva," I heard Roma say and she put a hand on my shoulder.

I took a deep breath and regained my composure. My lips twitched into a smile at Roma's words.

They were the exact same words almost everyone had to tell Ash Ketchum when someone insulted his battling abilities.

I had made a promise to myself never to be like the hyper black haired boy but apparently I wasn't keeping it too well.

I looked up as Cress walked into the room, now wearing his normal clothes.

"Where have you been?" Chili asked haughtily.

"I've… I've been….." he stuttered and I felt bad for the poor guy.

"So what about that gym battle?" Roma interrupted, obviously also feeling bad for Cress being put in the spotlight.

"That's more like it" Chili said, dashing out of the room.

Cilan and Cress both shook their heads but motioned for us to follow him.

_

"Okay, so like I said, this shouldn't be too bad. They each battle with an elemental monkey and a Lillipup," Roma assured me.

I had insisted I go first, simply because I wondered if my nerves would start to fray waiting this long for a battle.

"Alright, you don't have any advantages or disadvantages battling against us, since you use dark types. You can pick which one you want to battle" Cilan said calmly, motioning to himself and then his brothers.

"HIM!" I said quickly, and with a glare, pointing to Chili. I wanted to obliterate him since he had insulted me so.

"Hah, so you _want_ to lose then…. alright." Chili said, taking the trainer box opposite of mine.

Cilan refereed our match and assigned the rules. Each used two Pokémon and the first to knock out the others was the winner.

"Alright Pansear, let's go!" he called and a small monkey appeared in front of him.

"Pfffhhhttt," I muffled a laugh as the monkey's hair looked exactly like his.

He glared at me and I reached for my choice.

"Come on out, Absol!" I called and my Pokémon stood at the ready in moments.

"Begin!" Cilan called.

I sneered, wanting to make a fool out of this fire specialist.

"Absol, hyper beam!" I yelled and Absol mimicked my command, the beam of light whizzing to hit the Pansear before it had time to react.

The dust cleared and the monkey was easily knocked out.

"EVA!" I heard Roma yell from the sidelines.

I gave her an asking glance, "What?"

"Don't you think that was a little much?" she asked, sounding shocked.

I felt a color come to my face. Maybe that was a little too harsh, I hadn't taken into consideration that the monkey was a much lower level.

"Um, return. Lillipup, your turn." Chili called, sounding a little hesitant.

I knew Absol wouldn't be able to fire another attack for a few seconds so I waited for Chili's command.

"Bite." he called and the small puppy Pokémon started running towards Absol.

I contemplated; surely Absol was ready by now.

"Alright, dodge and use…" I paused, trying to remember which of Absol's attacks were the weakest.

"Um, use Razor Wind"

"Sol," my Absol grunted as he easily jumped out of the small dog's way. His sickle-shaped horn began to glow and he thrust his head forward, creating a crescent shaped gust of wind that flew to hit the small Lillipup.

The dog flew backwards, and once again, I had easily defeated Chili's Pokémon.

"Lillipup is unable to battle, Absol and Eva are the winners" Cilan said, holding up his arms.

Chili returned his Pokémon and walked over to me to reluctantly place a badge in my hand.

"The trio badge…. you deserve it" he said with a slight smile.

I grinned and began doing a small happy dance.

"Alright Roma, your turn!" I exclaimed, running over to the sidelines and patting her on the back.

* * *

**Me: WHOO HOO! You go, Eva!**

**Roma: *wearing cheerleader oufit* Yay, Eva! *back to normal clothes* Hahaha, she went a ****_liiiittle _****overboard trying to prove herself to Chili...Hahaha *laughs schemingly***

**Me: Oh, dear. Okay, so review! Make sure to tell me what you wan Roma to do to get those two *gestures at an arguing Chili and Eva* together!**

**Roma: YEP! hahahaha, remember to review!**


	9. Chapter 9: Roma's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi all! This is Chapter 9! It's about Roma's Gym battle with...uhh...who exactly?**

**Roma: Just write the damn story.**

**Me: No need for the harsh language, jeez.**

**Roma: WRITE IT, NINJA!**

**Me: *shrugs* Fine. Okay. I don't own Pokemon, only my OC's Roma and Eve. Read and remember to review!**

**Eve: Eeeveeee!**

* * *

**Roma's POV**

"Okay Roma! Your turn!" Eva said after she came out easily victorious for her battle. She patted my back and gave me a look. I smiled and walked up to the Trainer's box, Eve trailing ever-so-slightly behind me.

I chose Cilan as my opponent. I was going to choose Cress but I didn't because I knew I would jack it up if I did. Cilan climbed into the Trainer's box opposite mine.

He smiled and bowed. "It shall be my pleasure to battle you." he said. Then he called out his elemental monkey, Pansage.

"Time for my one and only! Pansage, let's go!" Cilan called.

"Now for _my _one and only! Eve, let's knock 'em dead!" I called. Eve yipped her name proudly as she soared over the bar into the ring.

"Let's start this off with a Quick Attack!" I called to her. Eve dashed at full speed to hit Pansage and retreat back to her end of the field. If Eevees can smirk, I could swear Eve did.

Cilan laughed. "Okay, Pansage, Bullet Seed!" he called.

I grinned. "Eve, dodge. Get in close!" I called. She turned back for a millisecond, then realized my plan. She dodged the seeds flying rapidly at her with a bit of difficulty but I know my girl could do it. She got very close to Pansage.

"Okay Eve, now Agility, darling!" I said, caught up in the flair of the dramatic, throwing my arm up into the air. Eve channeled my high spirits and dashed in circles around a very confused Pansage.

"Iron Tail!" I said. Cilan looked taken aback. I smirked.

"Pansage, try to dodge!" he yelled in desperation. But Eve was too fast. Iron Tail as a critical hit and, as the dust cleared, we saw Pansage had fainted.

"Pansage is unable to battle; Eve is the winner!" Chili called as the referee. I smiled and Eve did a victory lap.

Cilan called out Lillipup. "Lillipup, Bite!" he called to the small puppy Pokemon.

Lillipup charged at Eve. I rolled my eyes. "Eve, dodge it and Quick Attack," I said.

Eve dodged with ease and suddenly the tables were turned as Eve was the one rushing Lillipup. Naturally, it hit. But Lillipup wasn't done yet. It got back up with some difficulty.

"Lillipup, use Work Up!" Cilan called. I shrugged.

_"That raises its Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense. That said, Agility would do nicely. I'm getting a little fatigued. We haven't battled in a while, Roma." _Eve barked. I nodded.

"You're right, of course." I conceded. "Okay, Eve Agility!" I said to her. Eve flexed her legs running around and around the battle field, conjuring up a nice screen as well. I grinned.

"Lillipup, look for a flash of gold near you any second!" Cilan said nervously. My eyes widened. What? How did he...? How did he know...?

Lillipup looked around and saw Eve an instant before it was down and out from an Iron Tail.

* * *

Eva and I had both received our Trio Badges and were sitting at the back of the Gym where there was a nice little pond. The triplets and Eva were just sitting out talking when Eve and I cannon-balled into the little pond. I splashed water all over them.

Eva was extremely upset, especially since it was slightly cold out. Chili led her inside to dry off. Cilan looked kinda peeved and I just grinned. I looked at Cress. "Oh, memories. Remember that?" I said, referencing back to last summer when he had jumped in to the pond and soaked _me _through and through.

He smiled and nodded. "Too well. Those were good times." he said with an air of nostalgia. I turned back to Cilan.

"How did you know to look for the gold flash?" I asked.

Cilan looked at cress and laughed as Cress turned red. "It's mostly thanks to Cress. He was watching a girl's battle with the champ of Sinnoh, Cynthia, and apparently he had seen her other feats. He paused the tape once in a while, pointing out some flaws we could exploit if we ever got a chance to battle the girl. Can you guess who the girl was?" he said, nudging Cress.

Cress muttered something about having to make sure Chili didn't die or anything and left. Cilan laughed.

"The girl was you, by the way, Roma. And that was a particularly stunning battle. Cress evaluated every second of your battle with Cynthia. He went on and on about your famous Agility smokescreen. I've heard that, apart from Unova of course, Sinnoh is the hardest region to beat. Is that true?" he asked, all seriousness.

I nodded, deep in thought. "Sinnoh was one of the hardest regions to beat. I meant to ask, who's the new Champ for this region?" I asked. Cilan shrugged, claiming he didn't know. Then Chili, Eva, and Cress came out, Cress shaking his head and smiling and Chili and Eva blushing profusely.

* * *

After a few hours of just swimming around with Eve (as a Vaporeon, thanks to the evolution symbiosis), Cilan, Chili and Eva went inside. Cress had dived in with me a few minutes earlier.

"Why is it so cold in this pond?" I asked, shivering. Cress laughed.

"Normally, when the sun goes down or is in the process of going down like it is now, water gets colder. Eve should turn into a Glaceon in a few minutes, if the rumors are true." he said. I nodded. Then I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stay warm.

Cress shook his head and wrapped me in his arms. We stayed like that for a few minutes until he let go and held me at arm's length. "C'mon, let's get inside." he said gently. I agreed and we went in the back door.

Eva was sitting with Chili looking out the window facing the pond. That means...they had seen that...Shit.

* * *

**Me: Hahaha! Looks like Cress returns Roma's feelings! Review if you want Cress/Roma to confess in the next chapter or not. Also if any other important stuff should happen.**

**Roma: That's it! REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10: Eva's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): I absolutely love this chapter. It is just so awesome.**

**Roma: Yep. Well, probably, but Ninja HASN'T LET ME SEE IT YET!**

**Me: *rubs back of head sheepishly* Hahaha, yeah, there's a reason for that...**

* * *

I sat at the window, lazily looking outside. A few minutes earlier I had come rushing inside the gym, soaking wet. I would've been angry but Eve was partially the one who doused me with water, and I just couldn't get mad at that cute of a Pokémon.

"Here" Chili had said, reaching for my dripping jacket.

He had used his Pansear to help dry my clothes and had given them back to me nicely folded and still slightly warm. I had smiled and thanked him.

I sighed and rested my chin on my hand, still looking outside.

The triplets were all quite different but I found the one that intrigued me most was Chili. He could go from being a hotheaded jerk to as sweet as a Smoochum in less than three seconds.

'And I thought Agatha was the one with the mood swings' I thought to myself with a smile.

I was abruptly brought out of my thoughts as I realized Cress had jumped in the small pond to swim with Roma, and he was now holding her in his arms.

My mouth dropped open and I quickly turned to Chili, who was still sitting beside me, also looking outside.

"What's up with that?" I asked, pointing to the pond.

Chili chuckled, "Well, it looks like Roma actually returns his feelings after all"

I didn't think my eyes could've gotten any wider but they managed.

"So Cress has a crush on Roma?"

Chili nodded, "Big time, he just didn't know she had one on him"

"Heck yeah she does, she is head over heels for him, but she thought he didn't feel the same" I said, remembering the past night when Roma had gushed over the blue haired boy.

Chili laughed again, "Well, I think I see a new couple in the future"

I nodded, Cress and Roma definitely made a cute couple.

"So, do you have…" Chili trailed off and I glanced over to him, wondering what had him tripped up.

"You know, do you have a boyfriend?" he asked, quickly looking away.

I made a face, "No, why on earth would you ask that?"

He cleared his throat and looked back to me, "No reason, I was just wondering" he said, nervously laughing.

Man that boy was weird.

My gaze snapped back outside as I saw both Roma and Cress heading back inside with towels wrapped around them, Eve following close behind.

I giggled and quickly ran to the door. The minute it opened I grabbed Roma's hand and dragged her to the nearest room.

"So, what did he say?" I asked.

I could tell she had been expecting my barrage of questions because she rolled her eyes and blushed.

"You know, he just talked about Eve, and stuff" she said quickly, drying off her arms.

I moved my hands around, letting her know I was waiting for more details.

She gave me a look, "That's all, what more do you want Eva?" she asked with a smile.

"Are you guys, you know, dating now?" I asked, exited by the notion of a new couple.

She blushed but shook her head, "I still don't think he's as into me as I am him"

"Oh come on" I said rolling my eyes, "You two have to make it official sometime!"

She blushed further but didn't say a word.

* * *

We spent the rest of the day with the triplets and I had to admit that I was starting to enjoy their company. For three brothers they were all quite different. Cress was calm and collected, not much seemed to bother him. Cilan was quite OCD, always needing everything to be perfect. And then there was Chili, who if I had to guess, he was the one that was adopted. He was hyper and impulsive, always getting on people's nerves.

That night Roma and I sat in our Pokémon center room and I was once again brought back to the reality of getting a gym badge.

"So when are you going to be ready to head on out to the next gym?" I asked, folding a blanket.

She didn't answer and I peeked over at Roma to see she had an odd look on her face.

"Um, I don't know if I'm going to be ready to go on anytime soon…" she said, once again a coloring coming to her cheeks.

I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion but finally made the connection that she didn't want to leave because of Cress.

"Oh come ON, Roma!" I whined and she smiled.

"What will it take for you to go?" I asked. In all honesty, I could've just moved on with my journey on my own. But I enjoyed her company and I figured it wouldn't hurt to have someone from Unova as a guide.

She paused and then smirked, "If you can convince the triplets to come along, then I'll go. All three." she said.

My eyes widened. Convincing the triplets, who had a gym, and a home, and a life here to move on and travel across Unova. She had to be kidding.

But as I looked at the dead serious expression on her face I realized she wasn't.

"Fine" I retorted, putting my hands on my hips, "I'll convince them, you just wait and see"

* * *

The next day I set to work on the triplets. Lance, another member of the elite four in Kanto, also a good friend of my grandmothers was incredibly good at convincing people of things and had taught me a few tricks of the trade throughout the years.

Chili was oddly easy to convince and I had a feeling he had wanted to go out on a journey for a while.

Cress was a little harder to convince, but after I played the Roma card (saying she would be leaving, and this way he would get to stay with her) he caved and agreed. All I had left was Cilan, and I knew it was going to be rough.

"You can't be serious" he said in a deadpan tone, obviously not amused in the least.

"No, come on it'll be fun" I said. I had already exhausted almost all of my ideas for convincing Cilan and I was running on low. I sighed.

"So what is your goal in life, Cilan?" I asked.

He answered slowly, "Well, I want to be a first class connoisseur, of course."

"Well, what better way to do that than traveling around? You will have a more worldly approach, and you would have a wide audience to taste your cooking and whatnot." I said, trying to make it sound amazing.

I could tell I had planted a seed in his mind as he looked up and scratched his chin.

"Yes, but what about the gym?"

I paused, "You know there are tons of people just clamoring to be a gym leader, how about you give one of them a chance to be in the spotlight?"

He made a face and looked around, seemingly assessing absolutely every object.

"Well, I can't deny that I have kind of wanted to get out of here and go on a trip..." he said slowly and I leaned forward, waiting for his inevitable answer.

He sighed, "Alright, you win."

"YES!" I shouted.

I dashed into the kitchen where Roma was brushing Eve.

"There, I did it. I convinced all of them. So what do you say? Are you ready?" I asked; a wide grin of anticipation on my face.

* * *

**Me: Wow. See why I loved it? Oh, and malory, you won't have to hold Amy back from going on a rampage for too much longer cause the next chapter will be up soon as well.**

**Roma: *helping restrain Amy* Yep, wow this chick is STRONG! WHY?**

**Me: *sweat drop* Ooooookaaayyyyy...that's not weird, hahaha. Oh well. REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11: Roma's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi all! Here's the next chapter! I totally forgot to mention for the last, like, seven chapters that we do NOT own pokemon.**

**Roma: I thought they would already know that. If they did own pokemon, I would be in the anime.**

**Me: Yes. Yes, she would.**

* * *

**Roma's POV******

"I did it! I convinced the triplets! All of them!" Eva said, bursting in on Eve's brushing session.

_"Why has she interrupted my obligatory grooming?! I'm starting to dislike this girl a little." _Eve woofed, licking her paw. I rolled my eyes at both of them.

"Really? You actually did it?" I asked in disbelief, setting down Eve's brush to look at Eva. She looked as if she was about to burst from excitement.

"YES! I DID IT! I DID IT!" Eva chanted, dancing around the kitchen. I made a face. I didn't think she'd be able to do it...

"Does _that _prove her to you?" I asked Eve. She shrugged then nodded.

_'...I guess." _Eve said noncommittally after a long pause. I smiled.

"Okay. That settles it then." I said, putting my hands down on the table. "We leave tonight."

* * *

"TONIGHT?! ARE YOU FLIPPING _INSANE_?!" Chili shouted.

I shrugged. "Some would say that, yes. I prefer the term _creative _personally. And besides, I like to travel by dark." I said lightly.

Chili clenched his fists. I laughed. "Still not afraid of you, fire freak." I said.

"Please, just let us wait till morning!" Chili whined. I sighed but agreed.

"Fine. Eva, we..." I stood up and was about to tell Eva we needed to go when Cress grabbed my wrist.

"I was actually wondering if, since we will be travelling together after all, you girls would maybe stay at the Gym tonight. Instead of your, uhh, normal arrangements." Cress said. Chili nodded vigorously and glanced at Eva. Cilan smiled slightly and nodded as well. A smile twitched at the corner of Eva's mouth. She was wondering what I was going to say.

"When did I become the decision maker?" I muttered. "Okay, fine!" I finally said.

"YES!" Eva and Chili shouted. They looked at each other and started laughing. Cilan rolled his eyes and shook his head good-naturedly.

I glanced down at Cress and noticed he hadn't let go of my wrist. He apparently noticed too because he let go and started to fuss with his hair. I smiled. Eve jumped onto the couch where Cress and I were sitting and rubbed against my hand.

I petted her and she tried to purr. _"Rats," _she said after a couple tries. _"I'm still not a cat. I had some Purrloin try to teach me but oh well. _They _can't transform into 7 different pokemon, as far as I know." _I laughed. Cress looked at me funny.

His eyebrows were scrunched together and he was smiling a little bit. I grinned.

"We oughta turn in, eh?" Chili said, throwing his arm around Eva's shoulder. She smiled and said, "Yeah, probably. Early start tomorrow, after all."

"Aw, do we have to?" Cress and I mock-whined. Chili and Eva stared at us for a second or two before protesting, "That's MY line!"

* * *

A few hours later, we were all asleep on the Gym floor in our sleeping bags or various furniture. (For me, it was a couch.) Well, we were all supposed to be asleep on the Gym floor in our sleeping bags. I'm pretty sure everyone but me was asleep at that point. I had started to sing to get myself to sleep.

_I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose_  
_Fire away, fire away_  
_Ricochet, you take your aim_  
_Fire away, fire away_  
_You shoot me down but I won't fall_  
_I am titanium_  
_You shoot me down but I won't fall_  
_I am titanium_

__I sang that line quietly to myself for a few minutes. Then I stopped. I heard a long, low whistle.

"You're good, you know that?" a voice murmured. I smiled a little.

"So I've been told," I muttered to the invisible voice.

I heard rustling and soon felt something on my mouth. I was puzzled and after a few seconds, the good sensation was gone. I scrunched my eyebrows together, trying to adjust my vision to the dark. What I saw shocked me.

I saw Cress sitting at the edge of the couch! I pulled up the covers up to my chest and whispered, "Uhh, hi Cress..."

"Hi Roma..." he whispered back.

_"Hi? Is that it? Wow, you two are more ignorant than I thought..." _Eve said after a few minutes' awkward silence.

" So, I was uhh wondering if you, uhh...That is, I uhh well, umm...Oh, I'm no good at this..." he said. "Chili told me to do something and, oh good Arceus, I'm horrid at this..." Cress stammered, running his fingers through his hair.

"Cress?" I asked quietly, crawling closer to him.

He looked up at me and I put a finger to his lips.

"Shut up. Just, please, shut up and kiss me already." I murmured.

"Happily," he muttered back.

I pressed my lips against his and we kissed. It was absolutely wonderful and I enjoyed every second of feeling his lips against mine and running my fingers through his soft blue hair.

After a minute or something, we pulled apart. I smiled. He made a move to get up but I grabbed his wrist.

"Please, please, _please _don't leave me. _Please. _I need you, Cress. I love you." I whispered.

He sat back down and laid down where I was beforehand. He patted the place next to him. I looked at him dubiously. He smiled a little.

"What?" he whispered. "Do you not trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. It's just...oh, nothing. Never mind." I whispered, yawning. I cuddled up next to him and he stroked my hair until I fell asleep.

* * *

**Me: Okay, that's the end of that. Fun chapter, right? Tell me in your review!**


	12. Chapter 12: Eva's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): HI! Caps Lock will kill you. Just so you know. *laughs at inside joke***

**Roma: *rolls eyes* Stupid author. Okay, we don't own pokemon, only me, Eve and Eva, this was written by Poke-Lover88, blah, blah, blah, something else that no one cares about.**

**Me: *finishes laughing and wipes tear from eye* Ooookaaayyyy...*takes deep breath and lets it out slowly* Whoooooshhhh...So I think Roma gave you the breifing so you can just read now.**

* * *

"Hey" I hissed quietly, directing my comment at a sleeping Chili. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard low whispers. I had grumbled, about ready to tell the people to shut up before I realized it was Cress and Roma. I had quickly rolled over onto my stomach in my sleeping bag and watched their silhouettes, but I wanted to spy on them with someone else as well. Chili was just about as excited as I was when it came to Roma and Cress and so I decided to wake him up.

"Hey" I again hissed, beginning to get irritated that he wasn't waking up. I shook his shoulder and he grumbled but didn't awaken.

"Wake up!" I whispered a little louder, punching him in the side.

"Oof," he let out, his eyes flying open.

"What was th-"

"Shhhhh!" I quickly cut him off. I then pointed over to the couch where Cress and Roma had now stopped talking, just sitting awkwardly. I saw Chili glance over at them and a wide smile broke across his face as he rolled over onto his stomach as well.

"I wonder if he is actually going to take my advice..." Chili whispered, now only a foot away from me. I gave him a confused look, which was lost because of our pitch black surroundings.

"What do you mean?"

He said nothing but pointed towards the couch. I redirected my gaze back to Roma and Cress and my jaw dropped. Cress had now leaned over and I could tell by their position that they were now kissing.

"Oooooooh" I quietly squealed, making sure no one else could hear.

"I'm quite the matchmaker aren't I?" Chili said haughtily.

"What do you mean, you did that?" I asked.

"I told Cress to kiss Roma, and apparently he took my advice."

I shook my head, "That doesn't mean you got them together, you just gave them some obvious information."

I could feel Chili shrug, "I'm still taking credit," he whispered, swinging his arm around my shoulders.

I made a face and watched his hand that was now dangling over my right shoulder.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I asked.

I could feel him freeze and he quickly withdrew his arm. "Sorry."

I shook my head, "You don't need to be sorry; I just want to know why you keep doing that."

"Zekrom Eva, you are quite oblivious." I heard another voice say. I recognized it to be Cilan and he inched his way over to us, still in his sleeping bag.

"What do you mean I'm oblivious?" I asked, squinting to see the green haired boy in the darkness.

Cilan sighed, "It's rather obvious, really. Chili has a-"

I heard a loud smack and Cilan was cut off.

"Hey, what was that for?" Cilan hissed and I could tell he was rubbing his cheek. Chili nestled back down into his sleeping bag.

"You know why!" he said.

"Good Arceus will someone tell me what's going on?" I whispered, now completely lost.

"Just go to bed Eva." Chili said quietly.

"But I want to know..." I half whined.

"Drop it!" Chili hissed and I growled.

"Why are you so stubborn?" I questioned, again punching him in the side.

He let out another 'oof' but chuckled.

* * *

"Are you ready to go yet?" I asked in desperation as I had been watching Roma brush both her and Eve's hair for the past half an hour.

"Almost" she said with a grin and I could tell she was taking so long just to get on my nerves.

I sighed and walked back into the gym to get my bag. I had everything ready about two hours ago and so had Chili. Cress had taken a little longer but Cilan and Roma were taking absolutely forever. Cilan was so worried he would forget something that his bag was already past overflowing and he had gone to get another one a few minutes ago.

I picked up my jacket and slipped my arms into it, slowly buttoning the buttons, trying to pass the time.

"Kay Eva, Roma said she's ready now!" I heard Chili's happy voice say from the other side of the room.

My face lit up and I practically skipped over to the door. I flew through it to go find Roma but was jerked back as I felt a hand grasping my wrist. I stumbled backwards and managed to catch my balance. I shot a glare at Chili as I realized it was his hand.

"Sorry for how short I was with you last night." he said apologetically.

I smiled lightly. I honestly didn't know Chili was capable of apologies.

"It's alright, I still would like to know what he was talking about." I said, motioning to the door Cilan had gone through a few minutes ago.

"Um, well..." Chili said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Listen Eva, I…. I…..uhh...Eva, I like-"

"COME ON, CHILI!" I heard a voice yell, cutting him off. It was Cilan and he looked peeved. I gave him a confused look.

"He said he would help me give directions for all of the waiters and waitresses while we are gone but he still hasn't shown up." Cilan said, an irritated look on his face and his hands on his hips.

"Oh, I'll help you alright!" Chili growled, storming off after Cilan.

I blinked a few times, still utterly confused, but decided to shake it off if we were going to be leaving soon.

After another agonizing hour, I had managed to finally round everyone up. I glanced at everyone, making sure everything was set. Chili was standing to my left, bouncing on his toes, obviously eager to leave. Cilan was having troubles balancing two backpacks on his back but somehow was managing. Roma and Cress were standing off to the side, holding hands, a blush on their cheeks. And last but not least was Eve, who was sitting at Roma's feet, nonchalantly licking her paw.

"Alright then." I said with a deep breath, whirling around to face the doors.

"Here we go!" I said, shoving them wide open.

* * *

**Me: YAYS! I love this chapter too!**

**Roma: Hahaha...oh, too funny. I took, like, five hours to get ready, just to get on her nerves! Hahaha, oh too funny!**

**Me: It has always been fun to torture the OCs. Right? Am I right?!**

**Roma: Only on occasion. Eve says no. And that she wants a friend. Or maybe more than a friend...*furtive glance at Eve***

**Eve: Eevee! Eve, eevee! *what Roma heard* (Yeah, you wish, Roma!)**

**Roma and me: *sweat drop***


	13. Chapter 13: Eve's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi all! As you can see, this is actually from Eve's POV. Thought I'd mix it up a little. We'll see how it goes.**

**Roma: Hi Ninja! So, is this one seriously from Eve's POV?**

**Me: Yep. Why? Who told you?**

**Roma: *avoids eye contact* No one...**

**Me: CRESS! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!**

* * *

**Eve's POV******

I sighed impatiently. These humans take _forever _to get ready and even longer to walk out the dang door! Eva opened the door and I rushed out into the daylight. Finally, free! Yippee! I ran around, skipped (as much as an Eevee can...) and just plain ran for a wonderful amount of time before I realized my name was being called.

"Eve! EVE! GET BACK HERE!" Roma shouted, chasing after me. I decided to have some fun with her and dashed further away from her. I ran and I ran and I ran, as fast as I could, for as long as I could. After a long time, I stopped running and just sat.

I just sat. I observed the scenery. It looked...different. Almost like a...a...a forest? Oh good Arceus! I was lost! NOOO!

_"Shoot. How did I get lost? I have been wandering this region with Roma for...Wait, Roma! That's right! We have that special connection! She'll come looking for me!" _My heart soared. I would be found! Roma and I have a special connection. Only she can hear me, only she can understand me. We've never been separated before.

Of course, there's a...reason...for that..._"Oh, how dumb do you get? You were supposed to guard her and you ran off without a second thought! and you had the nerve to call yourself a guardian?!" _I spat at myself. _" Shame on you, Eve, SHAME! Eve, you were supposed to be her guardian, to protect her from Ghestsis. His little minions are everywhere, just waiting for this, the perfect opportunity to grab her and drag her back to that dreadful castle."_

_"Eve, that's enough. You need to get off your butt and go! You need to find her before they do. GET UP!" _ I said to myself, giving myself a nice boot in the butt. I got up, shook off the dirt and walked around the area.

_"Roma! Roma! I'm here! Roma, can you hear me? Helllllloooooo!" _I shouted to the open. Silently cursing myself, I made my way back to Straition City. I examined myself in a pool of water and found my fur, which had been nice and shiny and clean before, was completely bedraggled.

_"Oh, Roma's gonna kill me. She spent so long working on my fur and now I've gone and ruined it. *sigh* Oh well. I'll find her and face her wrath. At least she takes care of me, unlike my previous owner. Okay Eve, let's go. Let's find Roma!" _I said, trying to encourage myself to keep going.

* * *

Over three, maybe four hours later, I was in Castelia, the place we had first met Eva. This time was a little bit different.

My paws were cracked and bleeding, my mouth was dry, I was bleeding from various scratches and I was hungry. I was a sight for sore eyes. But I didn't care. I swore to myself that I would never leave the girl. But, here I had gone and left without a second thought as to her. I had no time to worry about my appearance.

I stumbled over to a fountain and lapped up some water. I sat down on the edge of the fountain and though hard.

_"Okay. This would be a good spot for her to return to. But she wouldn't expect for me to return here. If I was an undercover princess, where would I be? Oh, Roma, I'm so sorry! If I ever find you, I swear I'll suffer everything you lay on me with grace and I'll never leave you again. I will find you. Even if I have to walk to the ends of this Earth to find you, I swear to Arceus I will! I will find you, even if it's the last thing I do!" _I shouted up at the sky.

I saw a flash of silver and ran over to it. Nope, just a piece of silver something. Not Roma. I searched hard for hours on end, until it got dark. Then I just sat in an alley and laid down, disregarding my instinct that cringed at the though of having my stomach touch the filthy ground. I laid my head on the ground and was trying to get to sleep when I heard something.

"Eve? Eve? Are you there? Please Eve, please answer..." a female voice said. Then I heard sobbing. Then a different female voice.

"Come on. We've got to get some sleep. We'll start searching tommorow." The first voice now.

"NO! I'm not giving up! Eve is my best friend. She's always been there for me! I am _NOT _giving up until I find her! Even if that means not sleeping tonight, I'm not giving up until I find her, Eva!" Then two male voices.

"Come on, she'll be okay. Eve's a tough girl. She'll find her way back to us before you know it."

"Yeah, Chili's right. Eve will be fine and she'll find her way back. My evaluation sense is tingling and I know I'm right." Then a very different male voice.

"Come on. It'll be okay. Look, I would love to keep searching for Eve. She's extremely special to you so she's special to me. But, Roma, we need to get to sleep. We've been yelling for hours until our throats were dry and we were hoarse. We will get up at the first light of dawn to find her again if that's what you desire. I will anyways. But, call it a draw for tonight, okay? Please Roma, you need to listen to reason."

Silence. I summoned up the last of my strength and said as loud as I could, "_Roma? Is that you?"_

More silence. Then, "EVE! Eve, is that you?!" Then running footsteps and I saw my Roma. My princess, my client, my partner in crime, my owner, my favorite person ever, my best friend. She was racing toward me and she stopped right before me. She knelt down and picked me up and cradled me against her chest. I felt hot tears on my stomach and knew my partner was crying. But it was okay. Because I had my Roma back. And I'm never letting her out of my sight again.

* * *

**Me: *sniff* I tend to have a talent for things like this. They are on the darker side but they're nice and have a happy ending.**

**Roma: *breaks down and sobs* I...I LOVE this chapter!**

**Me: I know...It's good, I think. Tell me in your review. Thanks!**


	14. Chapter 14: Ghetsis' POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): These are just getting better and better! Really, this is just amazing. She captures Ghestsis perfectly in this chapter!**

**Roma: I like it too. Now I know what to expect. No, Eva, do NOT, I repeat, NOT step a foot out of this room! Eva! *runs to grab her from walking away***

**Me: Oooookaaaayyyyy...We don't own Pokemon, even Ghestsis unfortunately. Okay, that's it! Read and REVIEW!**

* * *

I tapped my foot impatiently. Where was that grunt? He was supposed to be here over ten minutes ago. I felt the rage once again boiling in the pit of my stomach as I thought about what he would be bringing me.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself. I needed to be thinking clearly for this. I needed to not let my anger cloud my judgment.

The Pokémon Center in Castelia City had called earlier this morning. The chipper voice of Nurse Joy had brought news that I had awaited and yet dreaded for two years now.

The spawn of that dejected boy had finally come back to Unova; or so the Pokémon Center employees believed. I wracked my brain, trying to grasp onto the child's name, but I once again came up dry.

N, the boy that was somehow my own had betrayed me by having that child. He fell in love; a weakness I had thought I had raised him to be immune to. But that brunette; the other hero that had somehow caught his attention for much more than just a battle for ideals. Just the mere thought of the woman brought so much anger. I again took a deep breath, calming myself.

I smiled lightly. The day the green haired boy had told me I was to have a grandchild I had quite conflicting emotions. I was furious, and that was the emotion that stood for most of the child's life. The small girl with the silver hair.

But soon I realized what an opportunity this would be for me. N, my first attempt at molding a perfect being in my image had failed. But maybe his child, who shared his gift of talking to Pokémon would be different. She would be my pawn to use as I wished in creating a new world, one where only I controlled Pokémon.

I couldn't refrain from letting out a small excited laugh at the notion. My goal that I had worked towards for years could possibly work, if I just found that girl.

However after N had left, and her mother had died the child had fled, obviously not wanting to fulfill her duties as princess. I grimaced. She was a coward. How could I possibly be related to one like that?

"My Lord," a grunt panted, bursting through the door.

My gaze snapped over to the man.

"Well, do you have it?" I asked, my eyes frantically searching him up and down, looking for some sort of evidence that he had the tape.

He nodded, talking a deep breath and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black object. He leaned over, connecting it to the large screen in front of me and I leaned forward in anticipation.

If this was actually what the nurse had thought, I would now have a general idea of where the girl was. I would have her in my possession soon enough; and never again would she be allowed the luxury of leaving.

It had peeved me over the two years that I couldn't find her. I, the most powerful man in Unova couldn't find one simple girl. Of course I knew why, it was because of her little Eevee. I snarled at just the mention of the small vermin. That _thing_ had some sort of connection to the girl, and kept me from finding her. The small Pokémon protected her from me; and nothing made my blood boil more than thinking about that little pest.

I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts as the screen clicked to show an image. I leaned forward further, squinting to make out the blurry picture.

There was the small creature I had just mentioned, laying weakly on a small table, wires attached to it on all sides. I heard the beep of the machine it was connected to but nothing else. I scowled. Was this all that the tape held? Was this some kind of joke?

Just as I was about to address the grunt that had gotten me the tape I saw four figures walk in. I again squinted. It was the Straiten City gym leaders, no mistake there. The green haired boy walked over to a chair and motioned the others to sit down. The blue haired boy followed but the red haired one seemed to be hesitant. I realized he was whispering something to the other figure. It was a small girl with long jet black hair, who was now looking over at the Eevee with worry.

"Are you sure she is going to be alright?" the girl questioned, looking back to the red haired one.

He nodded, "Eve's tough, she'll get through this easily."

"But she wants to leave as soon as Eve is in stable condition," the girl said, motioning out the door. "Won't that be bad for Eve's health?" she asked, her brilliant green eyes flicking back and forth, searching for answers.

The boy shook his head, "She knows what she's doing when it comes to Eve."

My eyes widened. Could he be talking about the girl? Was she really there? The two that had been standing up then went to sit by the other boys and the room was again silent.

This wasn't telling me anything. Sure the Eevee was there, but where was the princess? My questions were soon answered however as the door flew open to reveal the person I had been searching for all along. I stood up quickly, my eyes widened.

The girl with the strikingly silver hair walked over and petted the Eevee, who now looked to be feeling much better. Yes, that was definitely her. No one else had that color of hair, I was sure of it.

I smiled slightly. N and myself had an interesting genetic flaw with our hair color, and so had his daughter. However none of them seemed to inherit my eye color mutation.

"Alright Eve, are you ready to go?" she asked, gently picking up the Eevee. It lightly barked out its answer and I could tell by the look on the girl's face it said it was ready.

"Are you sure we shouldn't let Nurse Joy look over her one more time?" the girl with the black hair asked, standing up.

"She'll be fine Eva. Besides, we need to leave." the princess said with a smile, her eyes still flicking around.

It was nice to see that the thought of me still scared her anyway. She knew if she stayed in one place too long that I would find her, and indeed I would.

"But-"

"I think we should respect what she thinks. After all, no one knows Eve better than she does." the blue haired boy said, walking over to my granddaughter's side.

I chuckled. The small princess had gone on and on about some blue haired trainer that she had feelings for. It seemed they hadn't worn off, even after all these years.

"Alright then, let's go," the girl who was apparently named Eva said, defeat in her voice.

They all started filing out of the room and I quickly turned to begin walking out the door of my own office. I shoved past the confused grunt as I walked with purpose. I knew the girl and her friends were already out of the Pokémon Center, probably long gone by now. But I had gained valuable information in that I knew she was in Unova; and by the looks of it, she wasn't leaving anytime soon.

"Attention!" I called loudly, commanding my voice to boom like it always did when I was giving orders, or a speech.

I quickly gave the grunts their instructions and then retired back into my office. I sat down in my chair, propping my feet up on my desk, a smug smile on my face.

I ordered for grunts to be dispatched to every town in Unova. If there was even a slight chance of seeing even one (one is in italics) member of the group with the girl they would capture them and bring them to me.

I sighed in contentment. I would get that small princess back. I would get back what rightfully belonged to me. And with her I would once again try for domination.

Yes, now with my men guarding every possible area; it was only a matter of time before she fell back into my possession.

* * *

**Roma: HE'S COMING FOR ME, HE'S COMING FOR ME, HE'S COMING FOR ME! AAAHH, WHAT DO I DOOOOO!?**

**Me: First off, calm down. Second, make sure Eve is with you at all times. Third, teach Eva how to swim.**

**Roma: *taking deep breaths to avoid a panic attack* Okay, is that it? Oh, despite all my precautions, he found me, now they're in danger, oh what am I gonna do...**

**Me: Tell you what they're gonna do. REVIEW!**


	15. Chapter 15: Roma's POV

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi! Okay, so this is my chapter, as evidence by the fact that this is in Roma's POV.**

**Roma: If we're done with the introductions now...**

**Me: *smiles* Oh, I don't know yet. I'm the author, I can do whatever I like.**

**Roma: *groans* Fine, fine. Dow whatever you want, oh all-powerful author ninja. *obvious sarcasm***

**Me: *doesn't recognize sarcasm* Yay! Okay, I actually have nothing to say so we don't own Pokemon, only our OCs. Remember to review!**

* * *

**Roma's POV**

I paced around the room, restless. The others were gathering their things and Eva had to help Cilan with his two HUGE backpacks. She told me to stop pacing.

"I can't. Nervous habit. Inherited it from my father and grandfather, kinda like the odd hair color. I'm concerned, all right, Eva!" I burst out.

She scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. "Okay, okay! Geez, Roma, no need to get upset..." she said, still trying to balance the backpacks on Cilan's back. Chili had joined by this time.

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Eva, you don't understand. This man has been hunting me down for three years. Three years! He won't stop until he has me back in his grasp, even to the point of eliminating you guys."

I sat down on the bed, my elbows on my knees and my forehead where my wrists crossed. "I feel horrible for dragging you into this. I'm so sorry. I knew I shouldn't have brought you into this but I went again my better judgement and now look where it's gotten me. Nowhere. And I've endangered your lives. Ugh!" I said dejectedly.

Cress came over and sat beside me. "Now, that is complete and utter nonsense. We wouldn't have come if we hadn't wanted to."

"Actually, I," Cilan started. Chili hit him. "I will shut up now!" he finished, rubbing his shoulder. Chili grinned. Cress put his arm around my shoulder.

"Look, Roma, we'll be fine. My brothers and I aren't Gym Leaders for nothing. We know how to defend ourselves. Trust me. You're not by yourself anymore. Not only will we be fine, but I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to prevent you from getting hurt."

He rubbed my shoulder and got up. "We need to go now. I believe we're all ready," he glanced at Cilan, Chili and Eva who nodded, "So, we need to hit the road."

I got up. Obviously, they weren't going to listen to me. Oh well. I just hope no one gets hurt. If anyone else was hurt because of me, I'm going to kill that man. I sighed. "Alright," I conceded. "Let's go!"

* * *

After a couple hours, I started carrying Eve. She was still exhausted from her long journey yesterday. So I carried her in my arms as she napped, regaining her strength. We were just about to exit Castelia when I heard it. Gunshots.

"Hit the ground!" I shouted to my travelling partners. I let go of Eve, dropped to the ground and made my way quickly over to an abandoned house. The triplets and Eva dropped mere seconds after I did and I dragged them in and shut the door.

It as pitch black with only a bit of sunlight coming through various cracks in the walls and the ceiling. The windows had been boarded up for some reason. My eyes adjusted rather quickly and I grabbed Eva's wrist. She screamed and I clapped my hand over her mouth.

"SSH! We don't want them to know we're in here! Do you have a hair tie and a hat?" I whispered.

"Umm...I might some in my bag. Why?" she replied, her eyes slowly adjusting.

"Thanks. Just trust me. I need them or else we'll all be killed," I muttered, rummaging through her bag for the objects just mentioned. I found the hat first then a hair tie. I sat down.

"Okay, we need to split up. Those people were from Team Plasma so they probably have orders from Ghetsis. And if they have orders from Ghetsis, they won't stop until they find me. So, we'll split up. If questioned, you do not, under an circumstances, admit that you know me. They'll probably torture and or kill you if you say anything about me. Got it? Okay, I'll get out first, then you each come out one a a time. We'll meet up a the Desert Resort." I said, putting my hair up and hiding it under the hat.

Eva raised her hand. "I don't know where that is." she said.

I mentally facepalmed. of course she didn't. "For guidance sake, Chili will go with you. Pretend your a couple if it helps." I replied, noting the coloring on both Eva's and Chili's cheeks.

"Try not to get shot. Or captured. I'll leave it up to you to decide the worse fate." I said, walking towards the closed door. "Eve? Come on, let's go." I whispered. Eve trotted obediently to my heels.

"You know the routine I presume?" I asked looking down at her. She nodded and got in a battle stance.

_"Let's go. Just like old times, eh?" _she said. I nodded.

"Just like old times." I replied. Then, we jetted off.

* * *

I was panting hard, each footstep slapped onto the pave racking pain through my entire body. I was gasping for breath, none of which was clean, this being Castelia after all. I looked down at my bleeding protector I was now carrying in my arms.

"Eve, I'm so sorry! This is all m fault," I sobbed.

_"Roma, don't cry. You know how it pains me. I know what I did and did it on purpose. If I don't survive the shot wound, I'll go with a good conscious, at least. I'll know I protected you...till the end." _Eve breathed.

They continued firing at me and I kept running, running, running...

Straight into an ambush. More Team Plasmas but this time, with captives. Namely, the triplets and Eva. I stopped dead in my tracks and the exhaustion caught up with me. I collapsed, only to feel a few men roughly pulling me up.

"Let them go," I said. The man smirked and shook his head no. I summoned my reserve of strength and kicked one guy where it hurt and steal his gun. I held it right under my jawbone.

"Let them go or I will put a bullet in my head."

* * *

**Me: Ooh, long chapter, cliffhanger...Wow. You guys must hate me!**

**Roma: Again with the making me seem suicidal! What is up with you?!**

**Me: Did we not already agree that since I am the author, I can do whatever I like to you? If you don't think so, go see the Author's Forenote.**

**Roma: Fine, I will! *storms off to see our previous convo.* **

**Me: While she's at that, how about you drop a review!**


	16. Chapter 16: Eva's POV

**Me(pokeninja6600): I noticed that my stories are leaning towards the same plot now...**

**Roma: Wow. Why is it always me...?**

**Me: Hahaha lol. Poor Roma. This is great fun for me. REVIEW!**

* * *

My eyes widened with shock as I watched Roma press a gun to her jaw.

"Let them go or I will put a bullet in my head!" she said in a raised voice, her eyes flicking around to look at all of the grunts. I saw Eve in her arms and gasped. The poor thing was bloody beyond belief and I could tell her breathing was labored as well.

"Ro-" I started to yell, begging her to put down the gun but the grunt holding both of my arms grabbed onto me tighter, twisting my wrist until I thought it would break.

I watched all of the Plasma grunts carefully. Roma had told me about Team Plasma and all that they were doing to get her back. I remembered Team Rocket and the grunts that they had. But I had to admit the Plasma ones seemed much more violent, especially since they all carried guns.

I glanced over at the triplets beside me. Cilan and Chili's expressions mirrored mine; ones of confusion and concern. However Cress' expression had no confusion or fear, it simply held panic.

My head snapped back over to Roma as she once again began talking.

"Don't think I won't do it!"

"Hah!" I heard the grunt beside the one holding me scoff. Roma's eyes scanned over to the grunt and she glared.

"Why do you think we would care if you killed yourself, oh princess?" he mocked, putting his hands on his hips.

Roma began breathing harder, "Don't you think he would be a little mad?"

The grunt's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but not a word was spoken. I realized he had choked on his words in fear. Why was he afraid of this man Roma spoke of? Why was he any different?

"Let them go!" Roma yelled louder this time, pulling back the hammer to the gun, a small click echoing in the air.

"Let them go or I _will_ shoot myself." she growled.

"Now, now, no need for rash decisions," I heard a deep and commanding voice say. I felt the grunt holding my wrists stiffen.

Roma froze as well, her eyes widening and all the color draining from her face. Eve stirred in her arms and let out a weak growl.

"I-I-I'll do it" Roma stuttered, her voice unconvincing.

My eyes flicked to the right as I saw the crowd of grunts slowly part and a large figure slowly walked through. I had never before seen this man but I felt myself cower away from him instinctively. He commanded attention, and…. fear.

He was extremely tall and wore large purple and white robes, which made him look quite intimidating. There were two eyes stitched onto his clothing which glared out into the crowd of grunts almost as if they were alive. I saw his gaze sweep across the crowd and finally land on the triplets and I.

I unknowingly let out a small squeak of fear as his eyes landed on me. They were red, a deep red, something unnatural; and his right eye was covered by a red rectangle, shielding it from any view. He must've heard my small sound because I saw a slight grin appear on his features and he positioned himself towards me. He walked with grace, his robes billowing and before I knew it, he was only feet away from the triplets and I.

"Well, well, well, I see we have a group of hostages after all." he said, his one red eye sweeping across all of us; his strikingly green hair falling over his shoulder.

"The Striation City gym leaders and…" he trailed off, his gaze landing on me, "Agatha's granddaughter, I see."

My eyes flew open in shock.

"H-how do you know who I am?" I stuttered, my hands beginning to tremble.

He waved his hand around, as if taking in my question and leaned towards me.

"I tend to know quite a few people" he said, his smooth and yet ragged voice piercing my ears.

"Don't hurt them, or I swear to Arceus I will shoot myself!" I heard Roma again yell. The man whose face was now only inches from mine rolled his eyes and turned around.

He stalked back over to Roma and quickly snatched the gun out of her hands.

"Now, now, we wouldn't want our precious princess getting hurt now would we?" he said with a smirk.

Roma's eye twitched and I swore I saw hatred in her features.

"Just let them go, Grandf-" she cut herself short and sighed, "Ghetsis" she finished.

My eyes widened even further. So this was Ghetsis? This was Roma's grandfather? I had to admit he wasn't what I had pictured.

Ghetsis chuckled, "I will, but as you know that won't come without a fee."

Roma flinched at his words but nodded. A wide grin spread from ear to ear on Ghetsis face and he made a gesture towards the grunts holding us. I felt my arms being released and I immediately began rubbing my sore wrists.

"Well then little princess, we shall be going," the man said, grabbing onto Roma's upper arm.

I then realized what their deal had been. Roma would go back to the castle and fulfill her duties; no matter how much she didn't want to; in exchange for our release. I couldn't believe she had sacrificed herself for us.

"Roma!" I shouted, hoping this was all some sort of joke.

"Ooh" Ghetsis cooed, "So that's your name. Somehow it has seemed to elude me, but then again, that's what you wanted wasn't it?" he questioned.

Eve growled and weakly attempted to bite one of Ghetsis' fingers.

He huffed and grabbed Eve out of Roma's arms.

"NO!" Roma screamed, reaching for the Eevee. Ghetsis was much taller than her however and easily held the Pokémon out of reach. He shoved Eve into a grunt's grasp and roughly jerked Roma away.

Before I knew it, and before I could move, she was gone.

"W-what was all that?" Cilan asked, blinking rapidly.

I heard a whistle blow and the grunts all immediately stood at attention. In a very orderly manner, they began marching onto several evenly spaced helicopters, which were now lining the dock at the edge of Castelia City, only a hundred feet away from where we were standing.

I watched with a glassy expression as they all climbed onto the pitch black machines. When the blades suddenly whirred to life on the helicopters, it snapped me out of my daze.

There was no way we could just let them take Roma. She had sacrificed herself but I wouldn't let her get away without a fight. I only had known Roma for about a week, and yet somehow I felt like I had known her for a lifetime; and I knew I couldn't let her live a life she didn't want to, just to save us from becoming hostages as well.

Surely those helicopters were going to the same place as Ghetsis was taking Roma.

"Come on!" I yelled over the deafening sound the machines made.

"What? Where are we going?" Chili asked.

"We just can't let Roma be taken away like that! We have to go after her!" I again yelled, dashing towards the black machines that were slowly being lifted from the ground.

"What? That's crazy, we could get killed!" Cilan yelled.

"I agree with Eva, we can't just leave Roma!" I heard Cress shout.

I smiled and rounded the corner onto the dock.

"Cilan, call out Pansage," I said, motioning towards his pokeballs.

"What?" Cilan questioned.

"JUST DO IT AND HURRY!" I yelled and he quickly obliged. The small green monkey was soon standing beside me, looking around in confusion.

"Alright Pansage, we really need you to use Vine Whip on that helicopter's foot," I said, motioning to the small platform on the side of the helicopter; the one it rested on when it landed.

It hesitantly chirped in agreement and the two vines swiveled out to attach themselves to the helicopter that was nearly twenty feet in the air now.

I swiftly used the vines to climb up to the helicopter, and held on for dear life, trying not to focus on how high I was. Cress easily climbed up after I did and Chili followed, all the while muttering something under his breath.

Cilan was the last, and the most hesitant, and once he was safely clinging to the large moving machine, he called Pansage back to his ball. By now the helicopter had gained some momentum and we were flying at an amazing speed. I looked down and felt my stomach lurch. Not only were we about eighty feet in the air, but we were also traveling over water; an element I tended to despise.

I saw Chili adjust his grip on the helicopter and slide closer to me.

"You don't like the height?" he asked, noticing my queasy look.

I nodded, "Yeah, and I don't really like water either."

I heard him chuckle, "Neither do I, but then again I'm a fire type specialist; and so that's not too surprising."

I chuckled as well. I felt one of his arms circle around me and grab onto the black bar I was holding on to only about an inch from my hand.

His thumb lightly brushed across the back of my hand and I suddenly felt comforted and safe.

"Remind me why we are doing this again!" Cilan shouted, and I could see by the look on his face he wasn't too fond of heights either.

"To save Roma," I said, putting on a determined face and focusing all of my thoughts on the task at hand.

* * *

**Roma: EVA, YOU IDIOT! I JUST GAVE UP MY FREEDOM TO KEEP ****_YOU GUYS _****SAFE, AND WHAT DO YOU DO? YOU COME AFTER ME! AAGH!**

**Me: Roma, enough Caps Lock for today. Alright. So, another sorta-cliffy. REVIEW!**


	17. Chapter 17: RomaEve's POV(s)

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! I'M BACK!**

**Roma: Hi! I'm back too! We don't own Pokemon and apologize for any OCCness.**

**Me: Okay, so for some reason, whenever I try to type Roma's name, it types ROma so if you see that, that's the reason. READ,RATE AND REVIEW!**

* * *

**Roma's POV**

I was whisked away from my friends in the blink of an eye. Then I was placed in a helicopter and gagged and bound. Not that I would try to escape anyways. Ghetsis held up his end of the bargain, so I'll hold up mine. Even Ghetsis has morals, I suppose.

So I sat, tied hands and feet to my chair, resigned to my fate. Apparently, one of the grunts was interested in the future princess aka me as he kept trying to get about as close as he could. He was irritating me and I couldn't even tell him so. It occurred to me that I could use that as a way of escape but quickly whisked the thought from my mind. If I escaped, it would only get them killed.

"You remember me, chicka?" the male asked with a thick accent. I glared at him and shook my head no.

He smiled. "You should. We were good friends. Although, I always wanted a little more than friendship..." he said.

I growled, clearly initiating that I did not. He shrugged and smiled. "You do realize you're completely at Matt's and mine mercy, right?" **(A/N: I apologixze for that sentence...*derp face*)**

My head snapped up. Matt? Was he here? Matt was a very close friend of mine, although he always had some _odd _ties with Ghetsis...Nevertheless, I had to find him. Even if he wouldn't let me go, it was comforting to know I actually knew one of the people that would be serving me.

I started fidgeting. I twisted my wrists and found the knot. Slowly but surely, I undid while the male was preoccupied flirting with me. Finally, after a few minutes, I undid the knot and shook off the ropes. I quickly undid the gag on my mouth and gagged the grunt. Then I tied his hands and feet and unarmed him.

I got close to the grunt's face and whispered, "Vengeance is sweet, a dish best served cold." I walked slowly to the cockpit, gun loaded just in case. I opened the door slowly and walked in, shutting the door gently behind me.

Without turning around, the pilot said, "Miles, I told you to guard the girl, not to come in and bother me." I swear I almost leaped with joy. It was definitely Matt, no one could imitate that smooth-as-silk, highly dangerous tone of voice.

"Matt? It's Roma." I said quietly. Matt whipped around so fast I though he'd get whiplash.

"R...Roma? Are you freaking kidding me!?" he said. I smiled and shook my head no.

"How in the name of Zekrom did you undo that knot? I" he said before I cut him off.

"I invented it. Remember? We were playing pirate and I bound and gagged you with a new knot I had invented. You were still tied up at dusk when dad came to bring me in..." I trailed off, thinking of my father.

"I bet you really miss him, huh." Not a question. A statement. I missed him, yes. I sat on the floor and said jokingly, "Get us there safely or I'll have you personally beheaded." He just scoffed and turned around.

* * *

**Eve's POV**

I woke up in a hospital surrounding with many wires attached to me. I looked around for Roma. Last I remembered, she had been screaming my name then I passed out. I didn't see her but instead saw Ghetsis. My immediate reaction was to growl but it came out more as a weak cough. I sighed at my own helplessness.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. You just need to rest, little Eevee, then you'll be fine." His eyes narrowed. "Not that I'm concerned. It's just that the girl wouldn't agree to be the princess unless she had you by her side. So I healed you, a small task. You should be fine after a bit of rest." Ghetsis said, looking down at me. I tried to growl again but my lungs were still a little weak and it came out as another cough.

"You're lucky my grunts have bad aim. That bullet just barely missed your lungs and your heart. It embedded itself in your left shoulder muscle." he said, almost concerned.

I scoffed at the thought. Ghetsis, who had so many times bellowed for my blood, concerned about my healing. I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

I woke up a few hours later, on a bed without the wires. I looked around and saw Roma sleeping on a bed opposite mine. She wasn't facing me but I could tell it wasn't her. My Roma would be sitting on the bed, waiting for me to get up so we could escape. This Roma was just laying on the bed, resigned to her fate. It scared me, to see Roma so...so...listless.

Roma is a very fidgety person. But she was just sitting there, not moving at all except for the rhythmic breathing. It scared me so I got up, stretched and jumped over to her bed. She turned to look at me and her eyes were redder than normal.

_"Have...have you been crying, Roma?" _I asked cautiously. Normally, when I would wake up to her weeping, I would wait till it stopped and then go ask her that. She would laugh and say no, that she was perfectly fine. I knew better but let the matter drop. So I was anxious to hear her reaction.

To my surprise, she sighed and nodded. "I never could fool you. I...I...Eve, I'm so scared! I'm scared to be here, under Ghetsis' full control. I'm scared to leave, for fear they would just hunt me down again. And I'm especially scared for Eva and the boys." She got up and started pacing, a good sign.

"Oh, Eve...I should have never brought them into this mess. You're the only one who understands how dangerous this is." Roma said, pacing around the fairly large room.

_"At least he was decent enough to give us a good room, heal me at your request and let us stay together." _I commented. Roma nodded.

"It is a nice room..." she said, looking around.

"Much better than sleeping on a Gym floor, I'd assume." a male said. We whirled around to see Chili, Cress, Cilan and Eva standing in the doorway!

"I'm so tempted to evaluate this room!" Cilan said before Chili punched him. Cilan shouted then said, "I had to ride on the bottom of a helicopter, I deserve a break!"

Chili and Cress rolled their eyes. "We had to ride the helicopter too, you know!" Eva said, eye twitching, a sign she was about to go off on someone. I laughed a little and looked at Roma.

_"I don't know whether to laugh, shout at them, cry or spontaneously combust!" _I said, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. To think they did this just for us...

Roma looked at me and I could tell tears were about to take her over too. "I know right?!" she said, biting her bottom lips to keep from crying.

They looked confused. "She said, 'I don't know whether to laugh, shout at them, cry or spontaneously combust!'" Roma clarified. Finally, the tears and laughter won over all. ROma raced over to them and pulled them into a group hug, crying a little from joy. I leaped off the bed and jumped onto her shoulder. We were all back together, and for that time, we were all safe from any misfortunes or stumbling blocks anyone could throw at us.

However, that feeling was not to last...

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**Me: I wrote this. Poke-Lover writes the next one. Sorry, no Christmas theme. That's her job!**

**Roma: There's your assignment, Poke-Lover! Have fun with it!**


	18. Chapter 18: Ghetsis' Eva's POV(s)

**Me: Hi everyone! So, this is PokeLover's chapter.**

**Roma: I HATE MY GRANDFATHER SOMETIMES!**

**Ghetsis: Does that mean you don't hate me all the time, little princess? **

**Roma: *storms out of room***

**Me: Riiiiiight... So we don't own Pokemon, only the OCs. Thanks for reading and please review!¿**

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**Ghetsis' POV**

I drummed my fingers on the large mahogany desk in front of me and sighed. My gaze wandered upwards slightly to the man standing in front of my desk, who had just offered me a suggestion. He sighed impatiently and shifted to the side, putting a hand on his hip, which caused the blue lock of hair above his head to bounce slightly.

I felt anger once again begin to bite at me. No one was impatient around I, or they would be given a consequence. I took a deep breath and suppressed the rage. I needed this man in good health if he was to do his job.

Colress was a scientist of the highest regard. He could create and manipulate things like no other, and for that reason I needed him. Much to my dismay he had an attitude problem however, which constantly kept me on the verge of giving him a proper punishment.

Colress cleared his throat in agitation. I let out a low growl and the blonde man in front of me quickly stiffened and quieted. I couldn't help but grin. Colress, who was now basically second in command of Team Plasma, was still afraid of me. That was a good thing, and I planned on using it to my favor.

"Well sire?" Colress questioned, trying to suppress his impatience.

My mind was once again brought back to the current situation. My team had recently built a ship that would tower over all others. It was to be the newest Plasma base and they wanted me to visit it. I smiled; that boat was a thing to behold, definitely something I approved of. But I wasn't sure if now was the best time to leave.

The little princess had only made it back a few hours ago. She was in an emotionally unstable condition, and I hated to see anything happen to her. I cringed. Harmonias were always able to control their emotions to a T, but she was so weak, plagued by petty problems.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I wasn't going to leave yet, it wouldn't be a good idea. I needed to start Roma's grooming. I needed to mold her into a perfect being, one in my image; that would one day be able to take over the thrown.

I cleared my throat, "Not yet, let them know I will visit sometime in the future."

Colress' eyes widened, "But sir-"

"You will not question me" I ordered, cutting him off.

His eye twitched slightly before he nodded and whisked himself out the door, his white lab coat fluttering behind him.

I sighed and clasped my hands together. I honestly couldn't put a finger on why I didn't want to leave. Roma was well protected and cared for here, some of the grunts and Sages could even start to discipline her; but I had a feeling something was going to happen.

My instincts were never wrong, and this time was no exception

* * *

**Eva's POV**

I pulled back from the group hug with Roma and the triplets with tears in my eyes. I had never been one for bold moves, and yet here I was, standing in a castle that I had snuck into to save Roma.

Cress stayed in the hug with Roma for a while longer and I watched them carefully. Cress and Roma were such a cute couple, practically made for each other. I felt Chili shift awkwardly beside me but disregarded it as the two lovers in front of us pulled back from the hug.

"So are you ready?" Cress questioned with a warm smile to Roma.

Her eyebrows scrunched together, "What do you mean?"

"We're busting you out of here" Chili said with a grin in his voice.

Roma quickly shook her head as the color once again drained from her face. "No, I can't do that. I can't put you guys through that much danger!"

"Roma!" I exclaimed, shocked by her answer, "We flew all the way out here to rescue you, we risked our lives in the process, and so we are going to help you escape dammit!" I half yelled, overcome with emotion.

I saw Roma's expression soften and she lightly nodded. I knew she wanted to escape; she just needed to hear it from someone else.  
"Come on then" Cress said with a smile and intertwined his fingers with Roma's.

I nodded in approval and turned on my heel the then walk out the door we had come in. I was once again met with the luxurious sight of the Plasma Castle as we exited into the hallway. Roma was a princess, and I knew that, but I hadn't expected this large of a castle. It had tall ceilings with walls made of stone which held many intricate drawings. All of the floors were polished black and white tile and many chandeliers hung from the ceiling. We had honestly had a fair amount of troubles finding Roma. There were hundreds of rooms in the castle, and we had climbed more stairs than I thought was possible. We were on what seemed to be the twelfth floor and I couldn't wait to get out of this place.

It was nice, yes, but also a bit eerie. Too big for my liking, and I was in no hurry to see Ghetsis or any guards any time soon.

We all made our way down the long hallway.

"So how do we get out of here?" I questioned, turning back to Roma.

The castle had a maze effect and I suddenly had the feeling we were going in circles.

Roma made a face of deep thought, "I actually don't know. I guess we should just find some stairs."

A task easier said than done. Hall after hall, room after room we trekked, seemingly getting nowhere. We had been walking through the castle for a good half an hour when we suddenly heard footsteps. It had been perfectly quiet the entire time we had been in the castle and I felt my heart rate break records as I heard the sound of someone near.

Cress immediately positioned himself in front of Rom and I saw Chili do the same with me. I made a face, wondering why he had done that but smiled slightly, now feeling protected.

"Hey!" I heard a deep voice say in surprise. I peeked over Chili's shoulder and grimaced. It was a Plasma grunt, based upon the clothing he was wearing; a black uniform with the Plasma symbol emblazoned on his outfit.

"Matt!" I heard Roma exclaim and before I knew it she had thrown her arms around the grunt. Roma was never one to show affection, except to Cress, and this sudden gesture surprised me. The man who was apparently named Matt's eyes widened and he looked down at Roma with surprise.

I squinted, trying to remember if I had seen this grunt. He had black hair that was slightly mussed up, making him look quite handsome. He had strikingly blue eyes as well, but rather than that, nothing set him apart from the sea of other grunts.

"Roma, what are they doing here?" Matt hissed, his eyes flicking to all of our faces.

Matt, please, how do we get out?" Roma asked, disregarding his question.

Matt hesitated, again looking at all of us and then back to Roma. "You do know if I tell you that I could get in very very deep trouble."

Roma frowned and nodded, "Yes, and I'm sorry, but please, I'm begging!"

Matt sighed, "Fine, the stairs should be just a little ways down this hallway and to the right. Make your way down to the lowest floor and you will be in the entryway. It should be pretty easy to find your way out after that."

Roma grinned up at him, "Thank you, now let's go!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Matt half yelled, yanking his hand out of Roma's grasp.

She turned around and gave him a puzzled look.

"I can't be seen with you when you are escaping, especially now."

Roma frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Matt chuckled, "Oh I guess you haven't heard, I'm Ghetsis' private assistant of sorts."

Roma frowned further, "I don't know how you can so eagerly serve that man" she whispered under her breath but nodded in understanding.

Roma then waved a hand, motioning us to follow her and we obliged. We followed Matt's directions and it easily got us to the staircase. I swore I flew down those steps, my feet barely even touching the concrete beneath me. I wanted out of that place so badly I was willing to do anything.

We finally hit the bottom floor and Roma quickly burst through the door. My eyes widened as I was met with yet another grandiose scene. The ceiling had to have been almost a hundred feet tall and the entryway was lined with various statues and relics that all looked to be quiet expensive.

"HEY!" A shouting voice brought me out of my thoughts. I turned to my right and I felt my knees give slightly. Running towards us was a crowd of grunts. I mentally condemned myself. Of course the main floor would be flooded with Plasma members, how could we have been so stupid?

I watched as Eve, who had been loyally trotting at Roma's heels the entire time, stepped out in front of us, leaning forwards, ready for a battle.

I smiled and followed her cue.

"Absol, let's go!" I shouted and soon my Pokémon was standing in front of me, in a position identical to Eve.

"Let's go!" I heard three voices say in unison and I realized it was the triplets. I swore my eyes couldn't have gotten any larger as I gaped at the sight in front of me. I had expected Pansage, Panpour, and Pansear, but no. Before me stood three powerful looking beings, a Floatzel, a Jumpluff, and an Arcanine.

My gaze quickly turned to Chili.

"I didn't know you had Pokémon other than Pansear and Lillipup."

I saw him grin, "Our gym requires certain Pokémon and of a certain level, that doesn't mean we don't train others. I'm surprised you would think I was so weak!" he scoffed with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes but turned my attention back to the task at hand as I heard the grunts yell and release Pokémon of their own. Before me stood a line of Liepards, Krookodiles, and Watchogs.

I grinned, "Absol, Hyper Beam!"

Just as I had gotten my command out I heard the triplets and Roma call an action as well.

The sounds of, "Shadow Ball, Hydro Pump, Flamethrower, and Frenzy Plant" met my ears and I grinned.

All of our powerful attacks easily made contact, and with the plethora of energy, resulted in a gigantic explosion. I coughed as the dusty air filled my lungs. I heard a loud boom and my gaze snapped up. I couldn't see a foot in front of my face because of the smoke but I could infer what had happened. As I felt the ground rumble beneath me I grimaced. Of course all of those attacks were powerful, easily knocking out every Pokémon in their path, but what I hadn't expected was for them to damage the castle.

After what seemed like hours the smoke finally cleared and proved my hypothesis. All of the Plasma Pokémon were lying on the ground, knocked out; but what really caught my attention was the large chunks of marble, glass, and priceless antiques that were lying broken beside them.

I heard Roma audibly gulp, "He is going to be furious."

"Come on!" I heard Cress yell and we all nodded. We returned our Pokémon as they were no longer needed and ran as fast as our feet could carry us. I understood why Matt had said we would easily be able to find our way out when I finally saw the great hall before us. The door to the Plasma castle was impossible to miss. Two gigantic black wooden doors stood before us and I ran towards them with a fire I hadn't had before. They were the entryway to the outdoors, to freedom, and away from all of this.

I had never been around Team Plasma before, and I didn't know how they functioned; but the moment I stepped foot inside that building I wanted out.

Roma quickly slammed her hands onto a large handle and heaved. The door didn't budge. We all had to pitch in and finally it was opened just far enough to run through.

I felt a feeling of joy I hadn't felt before as my face and lungs were once again met with fresh air. We were finally free, and we could return to having a normal life; however my hopes were dashed when I saw the sight in front of me.

I skidded to a halt in moments. The castle opened out onto a large platform of land, but when that land ended, which was only about eighty feet from the castle, it was a drop-off. I peered down the side of the mountain and gulped. If you fell from that distance, you wouldn't be alive to tell the tale.

"There they are!" I heard a voice shout from behind us and fear once again gripped me. Without thinking I quickly confided in what was nearest to me, which was Chili. I threw my arms around him and crushed him in a death grip. I felt him freeze but his arms soon found their way around me as well and he gently stroked my hair. I oddly felt a wave of calmness wash over me but it was soon gone as I heard yet another voice.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

I flinched. That was the unmistakable voice of Ghetsis.

He didn't give anyone time to speak as he once again roared at us, "HOW DARE YOU!"

I pressed myself closer to Chili as an odd feeling encompassed me. Maybe it was simply fear, but I believe I had some sense right then of what was to come.

"I was going to try and be pleasant, Roma. But now I see a much different future for you and your little friends" I heard Ghetsis sneer and I squinched my eyes shut, fearing what would happen next.

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**Me: wow, this chapter is LOOOOOOOOONG! REVIEW PEOPLES!**


	19. Chapter 19: Roma's POV

**Me(pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! 40 reviews, yay! Aiming for fifty, help us out! I apologize in advance for any misspellings or run-together words.**

**Roma: We don't own pokemon, as evidence by the fact that I'm not in the anime. Okay, that's really it so read and drop us a review afterwords!**

**Me: Pretty sure that's not how it's spelled...Ohwell.**

* * *

**Roma's POV**

Oh, snapple. I sighed inwardly. I hadn't wanted to go, hadn't wanted to get them in trouble. But they convinced me and now we were standing in front of my very angry grandfather. Joy.

I dropped to one knee along with all the other grunts as a sign of respect, even f I didn't respect him. The boys followed suit and Chili pulled Eva down. Good ol' Chili, always looking out for his love. I dropped my head so my long hair could cover my smile.

They were made for each other. Both were rather hot-headed and both could be stubborn. They were so similar I couldn't understand how they hadn't confessed yet!

I was jerked from my thoughts by the sound of Ghetsis laughing.

"Silly little princess. Thinking you could escape me again. Oh, contraire! You will become the princess. Whether that be by force or free will is up to you, but you will become the princess." he said.

I cringed. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid...But nonetheless, that was my punishment. Now, what was theirs? Ghetsis sighed.

"Princessa, stand up. You are not meant to kneel." Ghetsis said, looking down at me.

I took a deep breath then stood, begging my knees to support my weight. You don't directly ignore the person that can have you and your friends beheaded within mere moments. I looked straight into his eyes. Then, realizing my mistake, I prayed he didn't see it as a sign of disrespect. As headstrong as I am, Ghetsis scares me to the core.

He lowered his voice so that only I could hear him.

"Little princess Roma, you have so much to learn. You can't escape me. I am the most powerful man in Unova, you are but one small little girl with an annoying habit to look after the weak and needy. You have caused a lot of trouble for me, do you understand?" Ghetsis said, his tone as ice.

"Yes, grandfather. And I am ready and willing to receive the punishment inflicted upon me. My only wish is that you let my friends free. They have done you no harm and you have me to do your will. Please, I beg of you, just let them free." I said, guestering to the triplets and Eva.

Ghetsis was silent a minute. Then, "You still are willing to lay down your life and freedom in exchange for these ones to go unharmed. Is this what you are saying, princess?" he asked, sounding confused.

I turned to face them. Letting my gaze land on each of them, I sighed dolefully then nodded. "Yes, of course. I have made the decision before. Now, I see no harm in making it again. So long as they go unharmed, I will be happy no matter the circumstance." I relied quietly.

Ghetsis was quiet again. "But why? These people have been nothing but trouble for you and yet you still lay down everything except your precious Eevee for them. Although, I suspect that is where you draw the line, hm?" he said, glancing sideways at me.

I nodded. Ghetsis smirked.

"Speaking of, does the blue-haired Trainer return your affections?" he asked.

I smiled. "Yes, I believe so."

He smiled just a little. "Congratulations little princess," Ghetsis said, with just the slightest hint of longing.

I was actually appealing to a softer side of my grandfather. One that had been warped and twisted util he classified it as a weakness. But, it still existed. And it was a bit easier than I thought.

He brought his voice to a commanding boom and said, "Everyone, back to your regular work. The princess' initiation shall be in two months. I suggest you prepare until then. Anyone caught associating with the princess in an unfriendly or harsh way shall be profusely punished. That is all." Then he waved us off and walked toward where his office probably was.

* * *

Eva and I walked back to our room. I laid down on my bed and sighed. Eva sat down on the one opposite mine and growled.

"I can't believe we were caught. I mean," Eva started before I cut her off.

"You should be grateful he didn't kill all five of us and some grunts on the spot. It took him over ten years to build this castle. He loves this castle more than he ever loved my father." I said dryly.

"True dat..." Eva said. I made a face and sat up.

"Did you just say 'True dat'?" I asked.

She laughed. "Yeah. Why, you got a problem with it, foo?"

I smiled at this Dark Trainer's oddness. "What does Chili see in you...?" I asked. I had apparently caught her off guard because she blinked rapidly.

"Whaaaaaa?!" she asked. I chuckled.

"Did you not know?" I asked, trying to stifle a laugh.

She shook her head rapidly. " I- I am not particularly opposed to this." she said before clapping her hand over her mouth.

I burst out laughing. "Did- Did you seriously say that?!" I asked, although she may not have heard me because I was laughing so hard.

Eva looked very scared. She had her hands clapped over her mouth and her eyes were open really wide. I laughed even harder until I felt that I couldn't breathe.

"S- stop...I- I can't...breathe! HAHAHA!" I laughed. Eva made a face at me, causing me to laugh even harder.

* * *

A few hours later, Anthea dropped by.

"My sister and I need to borrow the princess. You'll see her again after dinner." Anathema explained to Eva. Eva looked at her warily.

"Okay, just do not make her mad. She'll take it out on me." Eva said finally.

Anthea smiled. "Thank you for understanding. Come along, young princess." Anthea said, turning to me. I got off the bed, whistled for Eve and trudged behind her to a weird room covered in fabric.

Concordia emerged from behind one of the piles of fabric.

"Is this the little princess?" she asked. Then she got up and circled me, probably evaluating how I held myself, seeing if I made proper princess material. I couldn't help but think how much more Anthea and Concordia were princess material than I was.

"What is your favorite color, Ms. Roma?" Anthea asked, toying with my hair.

"Blue. A deep blue with hints of purple and light green." I replied, imagining the color and sighing at its loveliness.

The girls looked at each other and grinned. I get a bad feeling about this for some reason...

* * *

**Me: Okay, there we go! PokeLover is supposed to be doing a New Years bit but she may not have it done in time.**

**Roma: Patience is a good and worthy virtue.**

**Chili: However, not one that Roma or Ninja posses!**

**Me: NO! BAD CHILI! Go sit in the corner and think about your life! Okay, so sorry about that. REVIEW PEOPLES!**


	20. Chapter 20: Many POVs

**Me (pokeninja6600) : Third person, Eva's, Cress'. This augta be GOOOD!**

**Roma: She's not letting me see the rough draft. Stupid author...**

**Me: We don't own pokemon, review at the end!**

* * *

**Third person's POV**

Roma looked around at the large room with awe. It was huge, and from every wall cascaded fabrics, all of different colors. Some were bright, some were dull, and some were quite sparkly.

"Very well then" Concordia said with a grin after hearing Roma's color of choice. She disappeared behind one of the many curtains and Roma turned to Anthea with a questioning glance.

"Why did you want to know my favorite color?" Roma asked.

"We are going to make you a dress!" Anthea said with a grin, clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Wait, why couldn't you just buy one? Surely Ghetsis has enough money."

Anthea rolled her eyes, "Yes, of course he does; apparently you don't have a very good memory."

Roma crossed her arms, a pout on her face, "What do you mean?"

Anthea chuckled at Roma's expression and clarified, "Well, if you remember, when you were a little child you always had dresses made for you. Father insists that absolutely everything be handcrafted for anyone residing in his castle."

Roma rolled her eyes, once again remembering exactly how picky her grandfather was.

"Here we go!" Concordia chirped as she emerged, holding a large bunch of fabric.

Roma's eyes widened. It was beautiful, and they had found a material that matched her color of choice perfectly.

"Alrighty then, time to get to work!" Anthea said, putting on a determined face.

For the next hour the two sisters attempted to size Roma for the dress. The princess resisted however, on multiple occasions, and so it made the situation rather difficult at times.

Roma was brought back to her childhood days as Anthea and Concordia fussed over her. They would jerk her this way and that, taking measurements, pinning the fabric, and once in a while pricking her in the process.

By the end of the whole ordeal the room looked much more untidy than it did when Roma had arrived. A few of the curtains had been pulled down from the time Anthea jerked Roma so roughly she went tumbling to the floor, taking some of the fabric with her. The ground was scattered with clippings, bobby pins, and the occasional safety pin as well.

"Okay" Concordia said with a sigh, carefully placing the material for the dress on a sewing table.

"You are free to go now, however we will be needing you back tomorrow to try this on, and I believe Ghetsis wants us to do something with your hair as well."

Roma made a face, "Why are you making this, and why are you going to do my hair?" she asked, her voice showing her confusion.

Anthea chuckled, "Well, you will be a princess, so it is important you are properly trained my dear."

Roma audibly gulped. What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

**Eva's POV**

I tapped my fingers impatiently on my knee. Roma had been gone for nearly an hour and a half now, and I was beginning to worry.

I was rather skittish as it is, staying in that castle. But with Roma gone? I was downright jittery. I finally got to the end of my rope when she had been gone for exactly one hour and thirty one minutes. I stood up with a huff and quickly walked to the door.

"Oh jeez!" I yelled, skidding to a stop as someone else rounded the corner.

"Oof" both Chili and I grunted as we slammed into each other. I stumbled back a few steps but managed to catch my balance. Chili however went tumbling backwards and into the hallway.

I giggled and he gave me an exasperated look.

"Sorry" he said quietly as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Why are you here Chill?" I asked.

He chuckled and I could tell it was because of the nickname I had recently given him.

"I was just coming over to see if you two are alright," he said, his eyes scanning around the room.

I shrugged, "Yeah, I'm fine. These two women took Roma somewhere a while ago though; I was just about to see if I could find her."  
Chili nodded.

"Where are you guys staying?" I asked.

"Uh, it sorta looks like this, but a bit smaller, and it has three beds" he said, once again looking around the room.

Roma and I were in a very lavish room. The walls were grey and the carpet was white. Two white beds, across the room from one another were where we slept and there were various other pieces of furniture around the room as well.

"Oh, well, alright, I guess that's it then," Chili stuttered slightly and I could tell he didn't want to leave. What Roma had said earlier crept into my mind. Could Chili really have a crush on me? He was so hotheaded and outgoing, I didn't know it was possible for him to focus on something other than beating other people in competitions.

I finally decided to ask him, "Hey Chili?" I said, plopping down on the bed and pulling my legs into a criss cross position.

"Hm?" he said, awkwardly making his way over to sit beside me. I made a face. He really didn't want to leave this room. Why? Was it because he wanted to spend time with me?

"Uh, Roma told me something, and I wanted to ask you about it," I said awkwardly.

His eyes widened slightly and he looked deep in thought before he nodded for me to go on.

"Well" I said, nervous to ask, but finally I blurted it out, "Do you have a crush on me?"

I swore Chili's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider and I saw a few beads of sweat appear on his forehead.

"Uh-well-you know-I-um-" he stuttered, running his hand through his fiery hair.

He took a deep breath after a while and closed his eyes, apparently trying to come up with a coherent answer. He opened his eyes again and stared intently at me before he answered.

"Yes." He stated, his determined and confident façade beginning to break.

I quickly looked at the floor and tried to comprehend what he had said. I guess I could've seen it coming. He always tried to stay with me. He always threw his arm around my shoulder; and on that one day he had told me he wanted to tell me something, and I had a feeling he was trying to confess, but Cilan had interrupted.

I glanced back up at Chili who was now biting his lip. Now how did I feel? I had to admit my heart always did beat a bit faster when he was around, and I got Butterfrees in my stomach when I thought of him.

'Oh good Arceus Eva!' I shouted at myself in my mind. How could I have been so oblivious to both his and my feelings? I really couldn't take a hint, I bet Chili had been dropping them constantly and I hadn't even realized.

"Well?" he asked nervously, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I realized he wanted me to say how I felt and I put a warm smile on my face. I had really enjoyed that half hug I had had with him when I was afraid of Ghetsis, and I think in that moment I realized I did in fact like Chili as much more than a friend.

I nodded.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Chili asked, not sure what my slight head movement signaled.

I chuckled, "Yes, I like you too."

He froze. He stopped blinking, he stopped moving, and I think he stopped breathing as well. I stared at him. Was he alright? Should I pinch him? Should I at least-

"YES!" Chili's loud shout brought me out of my worrying and I jumped a mile, causing me to fall off the bed. I hit the floor with a thump and I chuckled as Chili began doing a small happy dance around the room. Once he had calmed down he quickly looked down to me with a worried expression.

"Are you alright?" he asked, bending down and giving me his hand. I chuckled and took it, pulling myself back up to a standing position.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I said quietly, suddenly embarrassed.

I sat back down on the bed and waited for Chili to do the same but he didn't. I looked up to him to see he was lightly shaking.

"A-are you alright?" I asked, repeating his question he had asked me mere moments ago.

He nodded and before I could create any coherent thoughts he had jolted forward and crushed me in a hug. The air was knocked out of my lungs but I smiled, enjoying the new position. I gently patted him on the back and rested my chin on his shoulder. We stayed in that hug for a good five minutes before we both pulled back simultaneously.

I still had my arms loosely around his neck and he smiled down at me with a warm and caring expression. His eyes held an intense look however and soon I felt him inching closer to me.

I stayed perfectly still, not knowing what to do. Chili was obviously slowly leaning in for a kiss, but I didn't know what to do. I sorta wanted to, but in another sense, this was moving way too fast.

He tilted his head to the side slightly and just as he closed his eyes, and our lips were about to touch a voice rang out in the air.

"Sorry that took so long-Oh!"

Chili and I both quickly let go of each other and he straightened up. Roma looked absolutely dumbfounded and glanced back and forth to both of our faces.

"I-uh-gotta go" Chili said quickly, before bolting out the door.

I was still a bit dazed, and I had to admit deep down I was a bit irritated that we had been interrupted but I turned my attention back to Roma as she began to speak.

She plopped down on the bed and grinned, "Ha, the minute I say something…" she trailed off.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled, a blush now on my cheeks.

* * *

**Cress' POV**

I walked down the large hall hesitantly, nervously messing with the buttons on my shirt. My footsteps echoed in the hallway, which only made this situation even more daunting.

The man named Ghetsis had called for me, and ordered me to have a sit-down chat with him. My senses and mind had been on high alert since then.

What did he want to see me about? Why on Earth did he want to see… me?

I finally turned to my right and saw the door I had been directed to. Number 808; Ghetsis' office. I hesitantly knocked on the door, praying he wasn't inside.

"It's open" I heard a deep voice say and I quietly cursed. I put on a brave face and quickly opened the door before I lost the nerve.  
He was sitting at his desk, scribbling on a stack of papers and his glance quickly snapped up when I entered. A wide grin stretched across his face and he leaned back, motioning to a chair across from him.

I stiffly walked to the chair and sat down, eyeing him carefully.

"Well you are probably wondering why I have brought you here" he started, clasping his hands together.

I nodded curtly, trying to get this over with as soon as possible. Ghetsis leaned forward until his elbows were resting on the desk and he eyed me carefully.

"So I hear you have caught the interest of my granddaughter."

I couldn't help but smile slightly and nod. I had figured this conversation was to be about Roma, and the thought of her still made me smile.  
Ghetsis nodded, "And you return her feelings?"

I once again nodded, this time vigorously.

Ghetsis chuckled, "Perfect. Now, since you came to her rescue, I assume you don't want to be without her… am I correct?"

I nodded once again. I was glad they were yes or no questions; I didn't know how well I would speak when my heart was already in my throat.

Ghetsis grinned, "Wonderful! So that means we do in fact have another royal in our midst."

My eyes widened, "I'm sorry, what?" I asked, glad my voice was working properly.

Ghetsis chuckled, "Well, every princess needs a prince…" he trailed off and my eyes widened farther than I thought humanly possible.

"Wait, no, I'm not a prince" I said with a nervous laugh.

Ghetsis nodded, "Not yet, but soon my boy."

I shook my head. I couldn't be a prince. Not only was I not exactly royal material, but I didn't want to be a leader of this awful organization.

"No, I decline" I said sternly and the pleasant expression on Ghetsis' face faded.

"One day there will need to be another King to rule beside the Queen. I managed without a Queen…" he trailed off, a slight look of hurt and longing on his face, "But a Queen cannot function without a King."

I still shook my head; Roma would be fine; she was tough.

Ghetsis sighed, "Very well then, I see I will have to find someone to take your place."

My hands balled into fists. Not much made me angry, but when it came to Roma I had a jealous streak.

"N-no" I stuttered, gritting my teeth together.

Ghetsis gave a coy smile and I could tell he knew he had hit a soft spot.

"Very well then, if you do not wish Roma to be with someone else; you will become a prince. That is my offer." He stated firmly and I flinched slightly at the finality of his statement.

I closed my eyes but nodded, agreeing to his ultimatum. I would give up anything, that is, except my Roma.

Ghetsis let out a booming laugh and I looked over at the man again.

"Fantastic! We shall have a new princess and prince within the month! Though it won't come without work; you need to learn how to be a royal, Cress." he said with a smirk and I sighed, dreading what that could possibly entail.

* * *

**Me: Oh, how we torture you.**

**Cress: NOT FUNNY NINJA!**

**Me: POKELOVER WROTE THIS CHAPTER! Arceus...**

**Roma: *dancing around* He likes me, he likes me, he likes me!**

**Me: Yes, yes he does... Anyways, REVIEW PLEASE!**


	21. Chapter 21: Roma's POV

**Me: HOLY GUACAMOLE! Chapter 21 already?! Whoa...*mindblown***

**Roma: We don't own Pokemon. As illustrated by that fact that I am still not in the anime. Meh...**

**Me: Alright, drop us a review at the end and I'll be a very happy Ninja! Thanks!**

* * *

**Roma's POV**

I smiled and sat down on the bed. "So, what happened? Did you guys kiss? Did you at least confess?" I pried, my eyes sparkling. She blushed and looked down.

"We were about to kiss when you walked in and interrupted...But, yes, we did confess. Are you happy now Roma?" Eva said, nearly her entire face red by this point.

I smiled. "FINALLY! Good Arceus..." I shouted throwing my hands into the air. "You are SOO oblivious! Honestly Eva..." Then I looked her in the eye. "I'm happy for you two. Hmm..." I paused.

"What? What's going on in that odd Roma head of yours?" Eva asked.

I grinned. "This place," I motioned around me, indicating the castle, "is a place of romance. My mom and dad got together here. You and Chili got together here...Wow. Odd, isn't it? Seeing as Ghetsis never married." I mused.

Eva raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, he never married? I mean, he had your dad..." Eva trailed off awkwardly.

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "I'm...not quite sure. I mean, I think N wasn't really, you know, Ghetsis' child. I maintain that he was found by Ghetsis in a forest talking to Zorua and Ghetsis got a flash of evil. That he could adopt this child and rule the world. Or, at least, that was the plan." I shrugged. "Guess I'll never know. My father's Arceus-knows-where and I'm sooo not asking Ghetsis about it."

Eva frowned. Then she got a curious look. "So, that first night we were together, you told me your mom told the best bedtime stories. So, do you remember any?" she asked gently, probably thinking I couldn't stand mention of my past.

I smiled. "Aah, yes. There's one in particular that I liked. It was about how dad proposed. See, he was never really good at romance. He came to me once or twice asking what to get her for her birthday or Christmas. He always ended up getting her a Fire type Pokemon." I chuckled.

"My favorite story would have to be about how dad proposed. My mom told it with detail. Dad added all these funny noises. But I liked mom's version best. Dad tried to make himself sound so unconcerned and stuff." I went into flashback mode.

***FLASHBACK MODE!***

_I was sitting on my bed and my mom peeked in. _

"N, I thought you said you put her to bed."

"I thought I did...Why, is she still up?" _my dad asked, peeking in the doorway himself. _

"Well, I'll be darned...The little troublemaker is still awake!" _he said, staring at me. I stared steadily back at him._

_"_Mom said she would tell me a story. I told her I wouldn't go to sleep until she did. I keep my promises," _I stated, sitting cross legged on the bed._

_My parents chuckled. _"I can already see you in her, N!" _my mother said. My dad nodded._

_Mom sat down n the bed by me. _"Okay, here goes. My first encounter with your father was in Accumula Town, a mere day after I had started my journey. His father had just given a speech about liberating Pokemon. Cheren and I were talking about the speech when a fast-talking, tall, green haired boy walked up to us and said something crazy about talking to Pokemon."

"But mother, I can talk to Pokemon. Does that make me crazy?" _I asked. She laughed and ruffled my hair._

"No. But I thought so at the time. I defeated him in a battle and as he walked away, I knew that even though I had won, his prize was my heart." _M__om said._

_I smiled. It was always sweet whenever mom would talk about meeting dad._

"Well, we had been going out for...umm...some time and I had said something about onion rings. N slapped the table and said that was what he forgot. Then he gently put down his spoon, got awkwardly down on one knee and proposed himself heart and soul to me." _Mom looked adoringly at my father._

_He grinned goofily. _"That even though our ideals may vary, she had not only won the Accumula battle, but my heart and soul at that instant as well. I walked away wondering if I'd ever see her again." _He looked back at her with that goofy smile._

_She smiled and tucked me in. I fell asleep very quick that night._

"That was my favorite bedtime story." I said.

Eva smiled. "THAT IS THE MOST ADORABLE THING I'VE EVER HEARD!" she squealed.

I winced and covered my ears. "Good Arceus, lower your voice! The walls are thin. We should probably get to bed. I'm gonna go for a walk." I whistled and Eve woke up and stumbled over to me. I picked her up and left.

* * *

I was wandering through the dark corridors at night. I stared at the coloring of the walls. Black and white tile glowed as the moonlight hit them. Black and white. Rival destinies. But as I walked barefoot through the castle, my mom's favorite phrase rang in my ears.

_"Everything has areas of black or white. But in certain issues, there is no clear coloring. Because when black and white mix, it creates a shade of gray."_

I twirled my hair around my finger. My father was the black. My mother was the white. So I was the shade of gray. I represent both the ideals of my father and the truths of my mother. To confine Pokemon in Poke balls without their given permission is cruel. But humans and Pokemon can get along. We accentuate the others' strengths and cover for their weaknesses. If the world were perfect...

I rested easy that night.

* * *

I awoke at the crack of dawn and made my way to the outside. I pushed open one of the doors and heard, "PRINCESS!?" I turned around.

"Grandfather. I trust you slept well."

He scowled. "Are you trying yet another attempt at escape? Because it won't be that easy to," I cut him short.

"Not escaping. I'm merely taking a walk. You can come with me if you like." I said.

He looked startled. "If only to ensure you don't escape." he finally said.

I shrugged and kept walking. I reached the edge of the cliff and turned around. Ghetsis again looked startled that I hadn't attempted jumping. I wordlessly walked back in to the castle to wake Eva. No one else was awake yet and it felt eerie walking the halls alone. I was jumpy, on edge. Eve was still sleeping in the room. I picked up the pace.

After an hour of sitting in silence, I decided to wake Eva. Then there was a light knock.

"Enter, I suppose," I said, laying back down on the bed. Cilan poked his head through the door.

"The two girls need you. They told me to come fetch you." Cilan said, referring to Anthea and Concordia. I shrugged and followed him with Eve following me. We stop at one of the oldest rooms in the castle.

I walked in and immediatley scaled one of the block towers. The floor was wooden and there were blocks stacked on top of each other. I got to the top of one. Ghetsis had been there previously and had arranged this.

He looked at Cilan. "Since the prince is not here, you shall be the princess' dancing partner. No arguments," he said after Cilan tried to protest. Then he looked at me. "My daughters have a special outfit for you. Go put it on." I jumped down and walked to a door that was behind Ghetsis.

Concordia looked at me as I opened the door and Anthea handed me an outfit. I put it on. The fabric was soft and seafoam green with blue twists and swirls decorating the bodice. The sleeves reached my elbow and fluffed out near the ends. The actual dress fit nicely then floated out a bit until it reached my knees. I pulled on the black leggings and red slippers and Anthea unbraided my hair before shoving me lightly out the door.

Ghetsis nodded when he saw me. "It fits you well, princess." he said. Cilan, on the other hand, was completely astonished. I disregarded it and curtseyed. He smiled and bowed. He took my hand and lead me out to the middle of the floor.

It was extremely awkward at first. I mean, he's Cress' brother. If it hadn't been awkward, I'd've been scared. But after a few corrections from Ghetsis, I got the hang of it. It was much easier than I expected. All I had to do was follow Cilan's lead.

* * *

A minute or so later, the song was nearing a finale. Cilan spun me around once more before pulling (for lack of better wording) me into his chect, ending the dance. I noticed he was breathing heavily although his movements seemed effortless. He let go of my hand and smiled.

"You...are a very good dancer, Roma," he said.

I smiled back. "You're not bad yourself. That was fun!" Then I walked back to the dressing room to retrieve my clothes.

* * *

**Me: I feel like Roma would be a good dancer.**

**Roma: I like dancing. It's kinda fun!**

**Me: *shocked face* Whoa...Roma just complemented my chapter...**

**Roma: *rolls eyes* REVIEW PEOPLES!**


	22. Chapter 22: Eva's POV

**Me: *sobbing* I'm so sorry everyone!**

**Roma: Ninja is getting a new computer and meanwhile won't have access to hers for a while. So please bear with us. We don't own pokemon. Read and Review!**

* * *

I sighed as I drummed my fingers on the nightstand beside my bed.

Bored. That was one of the only emotions I felt lately, and it was beginning to eat me alive. We had been residing in the castle for just about a month now, and the days seemed to be getting more and more monotonous.

I had to admit I wasn't uncomfortable anymore however. Roma had assured me that Ghetsis and the rest of Team Plasma would treat me and the triplets with respect as long as she fulfilled her duties, and so far she was right.

During the duration of my stay so far I had done few things. I had trained Pokémon, slept, and become quite chummy with a few grunts. But that was literally just about it.

I let out a sigh and quickly stood up, storming out into the hallway, determined to find something to do. Roma and Cress had been quite busy over the past month however as Ghetsis molded them into what he believed to be proper princess and prince material.

I walked down the seemingly never-ending hallway before I hit the staircase and once again had to climb. This castle had more floors than I could count, and I was getting a good workout every day because of it. Once I had found the fourteenth floor I walked down the hallway, counting the room numbers until I hit 997, the room Roma said she would be in all day today.

I pushed open the door and my eyes widened. Before me stood a grandiose scene. It was once large rectangular room, with one large rectangular table at its center. From the high ceiling hung many chandeliers which bathed the room in a warm glow. I almost began laughing however when I saw Roma and Cress sitting at the dining table, unamused and bored looks on their faces as Ghetsis lectured them.

I walked forward, clearing my throat. The tall man turned to me with an irritated look.

"What do you want?"

I shrugged, "I'm bored."

I looked over to Roma who then mouthed a 'help me' and I couldn't refrain from chuckling.

Ghetsis' attention snapped over to Roma and then back to me, obviously wondering what she had said.

"Well, we are having lessons now…" Ghetsis trailed off, insinuating that he wanted me to leave.

I shrugged and pulled out a chair, plopping down in it roughly just to irritate Ghetsis. I had found over the course of the past month that irritating the green haired man was quite amusing; especially since he couldn't hurt me, due to his deal with Roma.

"I guess this won't be any more boring than staring at the ceiling," I said with a grin and I heard Ghetsis huff, but continue on with the lesson.

"Alright, let's try this again. Sit up straight," Ghetsis ordered.

I watched as Roma and Cress both obeyed.

"Elbows off the table!" Ghetsis yelled at Cress and I saw him flinch.

"Shoulders back!" he barked again and Cress and Roma mirrored his order.

"Head held high!" he shouted once again and I gave him an exasperated look. What was wrong with this man?

"What are you; some kind of manner Nazi?" I asked with a grin.

Ghetsis growled as Roma giggled to herself. His gaze snapped over to me and he glared.

"MATT!" he shouted and a moment later the door I had entered through flew open.

"Yes my lord?" the same grunt we had encountered earlier inquired.

"Get her out, and find something for her to do."

"Of course my King," Matt said, bowing slightly before motioning for me to follow him.

I rolled my eyes but got out of the chair and followed the man into the hallway, giving Roma an apologetic smile as I left.

As soon as we had left the room the grunt named Matt turned around to face me.

"Why do you insist on irritating him?"

I made a face, letting him know I wasn't going to answer his question. Much to my surprise however the grunt chuckled to himself.

"Not many people get under his skin, but somehow you manage to push all of his buttons with ease."

"Hah!" I laughed out loud, a wide grin on my face. This was good news; nothing made me happier than making that tyrant of a man angry.

"He respects you though," Matt said, motioning for me to follow him.

I made a face of disgust, "Why?"

Matt shrugged, glancing down at me, "He recognizes you as a strong person. He always has respect for strong trainers."

I nodded but then frowned, "Who are you anyway? I mean, how did Roma know you by name?"

Matt let out one loud laugh, "Well, Roma and I were quite close when she used to live here as a kid. I was a good friend of her mother's and so I tended to spend most of my time entertaining Roma when she was young."

My eyebrows shot up. I honestly hadn't thought much about the fact that Roma had lived in this castle as a child; and I had to admit I was realizing more and more every day that Roma had an incredibly detailed and complicated past. A past not many people would want to have.

* * *

I stomped my feet like an irritated child as I walked down the hallway towards Ghetsis' office. I had been called in, and I figured it was to be given another lecture on not interrupting the princess and prince's daily training. I couldn't help but smile though. The triplets and I had been given more lectures than I could count since we had gotten there. Ghetsis was quite a preachy man, and always had something to say.

I made a face as I neared his office. There was an odd smell in the air, what was it? I tried to put it out of my mind, focusing on my next tactic to annoy the man.

I pounded my fist on the door once and I heard him sigh quite loudly.

"Come in."

I cracked a half smile before opening the door. I felt like I had been smacked in the face as the smell that had seemed rather faint in the hallway hit me full blast. I quickly looked for the source and realized Ghetsis was burning incense. My eyes widened. Ghetsis burning incense? That was like watching a Groudon pick a small pink flower.

I closed the door behind me and covered my nose, trying not to gag on the sickeningly sweet smell.

"Arceus, put that out!" I said loudly, praying the smell would go away soon.

"No," he answered simply.

He was sitting at his large desk, facing sideways, his feet propped up on it and my eyes widened. He wasn't wearing his large robes anymore, just normal clothes. What was this? Was this a dream?

"I said, put it out." I stated, not sure if I was being so short because I wanted to annoy him or because I was afraid I would pass out because of the smell.

"No." he once again answered, cracking a smirk.

I felt anger rise up inside of me and stomped over to his desk. I took the sticks of burning incense and shoved them in the vase full of water of a plant he had nearby.

I watched as his visible eye widened but it soon became nothing but a slit as he pursed his lips in anger. He stood up quickly, slamming his hands down on the desk, creating a loud boom that echoed in the small office.

"I SAID NO! YOU WILL OBEY ME!"

I almost started laughing, he was such a masochist, but contained my amusement and decided react differently.

I slammed my hands down on the desk as well.

"AND I SAID I WANTED IT OUT!" I yelled back. I would never obey this man, and I intended to give him a hard time until he realized it.

He blinked a few times, seemingly shocked that I had stood up to him and froze. I rolled my eyes, not interested in having a staring competition and plopped down in the chair across from his, propping my feet up on the desk and grabbing a pencil off of it to twirl around my fingers, giving my hands something to do.

I looked up at him with question and realized he truly was shocked that I had back talked to him. I smiled but changed the subject, curious about something Roma had told me quite a while back.

"So what's the deal with you and N?"

That comment definitely snapped him out of his daze and he quickly looked down at me, the anger once again on his face.

"What do you mean?" he growled.

"Roma told me he wasn't biologically yours since you didn't ever have a Queen, so, you know, what happened there?"

I could tell I had hit a sensitive subject and gave myself a mental high-five. He began to slightly shake and I realized what Roma had said about his severe anger problem was definitely true. I had been promised I wouldn't be harmed, but with the look on his face right then I began to doubt it.

"Jeez, if you don't want to talk about it we don't have to. Don't burst a blood vessel," I said with a grin, noticing the large vein now sticking out in his neck.

He closed his eyes before taking a few deep breaths and sitting back down in his chair.

"So why did you call me here?" I asked with a fake yawn, hoping he would think I was bored with anything he had to say.

He twitched slightly, looking at my feet which were still sitting on the desk's surface.

He snapped and pointed at them, "Down."

I rolled my eyes but obliged to removing my feet, wanting to get the conversation over with.

"Well, I was just going to give you an offer," he said softly, leaning back in his chair.

I gave him a skeptical look and he continued.

"You and Roma seem to be quite close, and I know she feels comfortable around you, so I wish to give you a job…"

I leaned backwards, once again giving him an 'are you crazy?' look.

He chuckled, "She is at ease when she is around you so I wish for you to be one of her accompanists."

This conversation was just getting weirder and weirder. "What do you mean?" I asked, confusion dripping from my voice.

Ghetsis huffed, "I trust you to keep an eye on her not only as someone who will look out for her well-being, but as her friend."

"What?" I once again questioned. It was as if he was speaking in another language.

Ghetsis rolled his eye, "She wishes to travel away from the castle at times. I would usually have grunts go with her, but for one she doesn't care for hardly any of them, and I'm afraid that fact might make it so she tries to flee. Therefore I am asking you to accompany her wherever she wishes to go and keep her unharmed."

I thought it weird that he would ask me to be a body guard when I was only the same age as Roma, and also wanted to escape from the castle, but I nodded, agreeing. I would get to spend time out of the Plasma castle that way as well, and that time seemed precious.

He nodded, "Good."

* * *

I stuffed my hands in my jacket pockets as I looked up at the giant blow up Pikachu across the way. I was in Nimbasa City now, as that was where Roma had wanted to go. I wasn't going to complain because I was finally granted access out of that wretched place but I was once again reminded of exactly how cold Unova could get.

I glanced over at Matt and Roma who seemed perfectly fine with the cold; along with Eve who was faithfully trotting at Roma's heels.

"So where are we going first?" Matt asked, glancing longingly at the Battle Subway.

"There is this little café that my parents used to take me to…" Roma trailed off, squinting into the distance, presumably to find the restaurant.  
I shivered and tightened my coat around me. I was just about ready to tell Roma to ask for directions when I heard someone call out from behind us.

"Hey!" I heard two voices yell, one male and one female.

I jumped slightly and whirled around, a look of utter shock on my face as I saw people I believed I wouldn't ever lay eyes upon again. In front of me stood people wearing uniforms of the team I had hoped to never have to deal with after I had left Kanto. They were Team Rocket members.

* * *

**Me: Okay, I hope you enjoyed! Masterfully written by Poke-Lover88, this story was amazing wasn't it!**

**Roma: IMA GET A NEW EEEEEEVEEEEEE, IMA GET A NEW EEEEVEEEE!**

**Me: Indeed it is so.**

**Roma: -_- stop that.**

**Me: WHAILORD FACE! Anyways, review pleazes!**


	23. Chapter 23: Roma's Stormer's POV(s)

**In which Roma loves Musicals as opposed to Ferris wheels, a new character is introduced and part of the reason I made it T instead of K+.**

* * *

**Roma's POV**

I heard Eva gasp and whirled around to see a lavender haired male, a pinkish- red haired female and a Meowth (who was standing on two legs, strangely enough).

The pink haired girl struck a pose and said, "Prepare for trouble!"

The lavender haired male followed up with, "Make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth-" the female started.

"We don't have time for dis! Grab da Eevee, yous!" the Meowth shouted in a Brooklyn accent.

The pink haired girl struck the Meowth with a fan. "Meowth, we have to do the theme! It's part of who we are!"

The purple haired male said, "Let us express our individuality, Meowth!"

"Jessie! James! Dis could possibly be our promotion! I'll be da top cat again! GRAB DA EEVEE!" the Meowth shouted.

The female, Jessie apparently, nodded. "You know, he's right James. This little Eevee could be our leg up on Cassidy and Botch."

I stepped back, processing what I'd just seen and heard.

"D- do you..." Could I dare to hope? Could they possibly share my gift?

They looked at me. "What?" the male, James, asked.

" Can- can you guys talk to pokemon too?" I asked, my eyes shining with hope.

James scoffed. "No, why-" he was stopped by Jessie clapping a hand over his mouth.

"Yes, we can! We can tell you- OOF!" she was cut off by me running over and hugging both the humans.

"OMIARCEUS I'M SO HAPPY!" I squealed, hugging them very close.

"Umm..." they sweat-droppped.

"Roma!" Eva shouted.

I turned to look at her. Tears were glistening in my eyes. "Yes?"

"They're the bad guys! Back in Kanto, there is a large sum of money out for their arrest!" Eva said, glaring at the people.

James' face lit up. "Really? I can't believe it! Jess, there is money on our being arrested! We made it big time!" he said happily.

"Eva, I am almost the princess of Team Plasma. And you're calling them the bad guys? I doubt they could steal a Pikachu." I scoffed.

Eva rolled her eyes. "They have been trying to steal a Pikachu from a boy named...umm, Ash, I think it was. Anyways, they're Pokemon theives!" she said.

I shrugged. Then I smiled at the people. "Thanks for your time! I hope we'll meet up again so we can talk! But for now, I bid thee adieu." I curtsied and whistled for Eve, who leaped into my arms. Then I headed off for the cafe, Matt and Eva not far behind.

* * *

We stopped in front of the Musical arena. I glanced at Matt, who was now leading, claimimg he knew this city like the back of his hand. Which, apparently, is not very well, because we were lost.

"Matty, admit it. We're lost." I sighed exasperatedly.

He cringed at the nickname and said, "Were not lost, per say. We're just...umm...Oh look! The Musical hall!" he said, changing the subject.

I smiled. "I love Musicals! To see all the kind Trainers and Pokemon working together to grow closer And earn the audiences applaud by showing that, well, it's kinda fun to do the impossible." I gushed.

Eva made an odd face. "Would you like to go in, Roma?" she asked.

"YEEEESSSS!" I shouted, grabbing their hands and dragging the inside the building.

* * *

**Stormer's POV**

I stumbled, bleeding and beat, into a clearing. I paused to catch my breath and cough up some blood before weakly limping on. It was always cold in Nimbasa but today the cold was biting at my skin at places where my fur had been ripped off.**  
**

I stopped near a frozen puddle and looked at my reflection.

My regal, shiny, jet- black coat was rumpled and sticking out at odd angles from where it was ripped up. My normally pure white ruffles covering my neck weren't white anymore, matted down and discolored by my blood. Not to mention, my left hind leg was not a pretty sight. It looked ripped apart. I could see the tainted bone in places and I could hardly stand to put any pressure on it.

I looked at the ice and raised a paw, wondering if my evolution symbiosis would either heal me or kill me. Either was preferable at this point...

Then I heard footsteps. Light, bouncy ones. I leaped into a bush and hid there. I saw a gold female Eevee trouncing along the trail. She shouted for the humans then I accidentally fell out of my hiding place. She saw me and yelped.

_"Oh my Arceus, you're hurt. Here, let me help. Oh, I'm Eve, by the_ way." She said, licking my wounds.

"Stormer's the name. Nice ta meet ya, Eve." I replied. Her tongue was strangely soothing. I stood completely still except for my tail which was loose and wagging.

She made it to my neck, where the most damage was. She gasped in awe and I grimaced.

_"Stormer, what happened?" _She asked.

"I was set upon by a pack of Eevees who thought it was okay to attack me, despite their obvious advantage in numbers." I said, bitterly recounting it. "I managed to get away when a Pidove caught the leads attention. I Poison Tailed the small ones and ran as fast as I could with my injured leg."

She made a sympathetic noise and continued caressing my neck with her tongue. I sighed seductively. Eve noticed.

_"You like that, Stormer?" _ She asked, her breath hot on my neck.

"Oh, yeah..." I said. She licked my cheek and stepped away, ears pricked. A few seconds later, a silver haired girl, a black haired girl an a black haired boy burst into the trees.

Eve sighed and said,"_Finally! You humans are all slow. Stormer, the silver haired girl is my partner and friend, Roma. The black haired maiden is Eva. The black haired male is Matt, one of Roma's first grunt friends. See, Roma is the princess of Team Plasma. But Ghetsis let her out of the castle and we went exploring. Which is when I found you."_

__The silver haired female strode over and picked me up. "Okay, so right now, we've got to focus on getting you to a poke center. Meanwhile, though..." She trailed off and looked at Eve. Eve shrugged and nodded.

"So, I know this is a bit sudden but I was wondering if you would like to join me and Eve?" she asked. I snuggled into her fleece jacket and sighed.

"Can I call you Mistress? Is that okay? Am I allowed to call you Mistress, Mistress?"

Mistress chuckled. "If it suits your fancy, you can call me Mistress all you want, Stormer."

I was startled. Then I realized she had spoken to Eve earlier. "Can- can you, ya know, understand me, Mistress?" I asked hesitantly.

"Why, yes. Yes, I can Stormer. It's a blessing and a curse, believe me..." She shook her head and laughed, causing her braid to whip around and hit me on the nose. I whimpered an buried my nose in Mistress' jacket. She laughed at my reaction. I eventually fell asleep snuggled into Mistress' warm jacket.

* * *

**Me: Alrighty, there we go!**

**Roma: YEAH! I have a new Eevee! YAYAYAYAY!**

** Me: *gulps* I think she got into my candy stache...OH, ARCEUS SAVE US!**

**Chili: From what?**

** Me: R- Roma f- found my candy stache...**

**Chili: RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!**

** Me: BUT REVIEW FIRST!**


	24. Chapter 24: Eva's POV

**Me (Pokeninja6600): HI ALL! So, this chapter was written by Poke-Lover88.**

**Roma: Did you notice that you guys own every person in this on except the actual Pokemon names and Ghetsis?**

**Me: 0.o THAT IS SO COOOOOOOOLL!**

**Roma: Oh Arceus...Hahaha, alright, I apologize for the author and we don't own Pokemon so REVIEW!**

* * *

"Well that was fun," Matt said in a halfway sarcastic tone, shoving his hands into his pockets.

We had just excited the Musical Hall yet again after Roma forced us to sit through three shows. I glanced down to see Eve trotting loyally at her side, now accompanied by the new black and white Eevee who was named Stormer. Roma had only found him about a day and a half ago but he already easily fit into the group, and I had a sense that Eve took quite a liking to him as well.

"Wasn't it?" Roma said, her eyes still glowing from being able to watch a musical, which was apparently one of her favorite things to do.

Matt chuckled, "Yeah, that last one with the Excadrill and Steelix playing Hansel and Gretel was hilarious," he said, sputtering out a laugh.

I rolled my eyes, "I feel sorry for that poor Excadrill."

Matt gave me a confused look, "Why?"

This time it was Roma's turn to answer, "Good Arceus Matty, it had to wear a bow and a dress!"

"And I think it was a male," I said with a chuckle, glancing ahead of us to where Stormer was prancing happily on the cobblestone path.

Roma whistled, "Don't go too far, Stormer."

He turned back and I saw a slight eye roll before he nodded and returned to Eve and Roma's side.

Eve barked out a few words and I heard Roma let out one laugh.

I gave her a confused look.

"Oh, she was just telling him that if he wasn't careful that group of Eevees might come back."

I nodded to myself, internally smiling at how protective Eve seemed to be over Stormer.

"Ooh, over there!" Roma squealed, pointing to a quaint brick building.

I squinted and saw it was a small café, "So is that the place we have been trying to find since we got here?" I asked.

Roma nodded, "Yup. Mom and Dad used to eat here all the time. Actually, if I'm not mistaken I think this was where he proposed as well."

My eyebrows shot up and I nodded, now eager to see this place. We went inside and ordered sandwiches and drinks, bringing them out to the small tables in front of the building. I plopped down in a chair, taking a greedy bite out of the sandwich and smiled. It was good.

Roma sighed, lifting Stormer up onto the table. Eve had easily jumped up and perched herself on the edge, but due to his now healing wound on his back leg, Stormer still couldn't jump too well.

I heard a faint ringing noise and quickly looked around myself, wondering where it was coming from. I saw Matt shift to the side, pulling out a small black and gold X-transceiver and sigh, clicking a button before shoving it back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" I questioned, my voice slurred because of the sandwich stuffed in my mouth.

"Ghetsis," Matt stated calmly, taking a sip of his coffee. He made a face.

"Ugh this stuff is awful, I thought you said they were known for their coffee," he said, moving his tongue around, trying to get the apparently terrible taste to vanish.

Roma chuckled, "Well, according to Mom it was, but she had the worst sense of taste in the world."

I paused, "So is no one going to ask why he didn't answer that call?"

I saw Roma's eyebrows scrunch together, "Yeah, why didn't you? He usually gets pretty mad if someone is avoiding him."

Matt shrugged, "He's been calling almost nonstop since last night; I just haven't felt like answering."

Roma's eyes widened, "HE'S BEEN CALLING SINCE LAST NIGHT?" she yelled.

Matt jumped slightly, "Yeah, what's the problem?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh come on, Matt. Even I know he would be mad if you didn't answer, especially if it involves Roma."

Roma quickly stood up and snapped for Stormer and Eve to follow, "Come on, we better get back or he is going to be p-i-s-s-e-d!"

Matt rolled his eyes but obliged. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my chair, but not before I was able to grab the rest of my sandwich, stuffing it into my mouth.

Once we were on the outskirts of Nimbasa where there weren't many people, Matt called out his Unfeazant.

Roma climbed on first, then I did, and then Matt, once again leaving me in the middle of a human sandwich. I noticed Roma was shaking, whispering things under her breath nervously.

I sighed. We had been scheduled to arrive back at the Plasma Castle the past night after a day in Nimbasa. But with the whole Stormer issue, and having to stay overnight at the Pokémon Center while he was given treatment, we were overdue for our return. And I, just like Roma, knew Ghetsis wasn't going to be a happy camper because of this.

We flew silently for nearly a half an hour, no one saying anything. I knew Roma was too engrossed in her thoughts to talk, and I personally was too engrossed at looking at the lights beneath us. Which left Matt with no conversational buddies, and by the end of the trip I knew that the silence had given him time to think as well. And by the look on his face he had finally pieced together that he was going to get the blame for being out so long and not answering any of the calls.

The Unfeazant landed effortlessly on the small platform outside of the Plasma Castle and Matt returned it hesitantly.

Roma marched forward quickly and I did the same, hoping we would be able to get in quickly and quietly enough not to disturb the green haired tyrant that owned this building.

However my hopes were dashed as we heaved open the large doors to see Ghetsis immediately storming towards us, an angry look on his face. Was he ever not angry?

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" he thundered and I think all three of us cringed, hoping the punishment would be minimal.

* * *

**Me: *cringe* I feel ya...Ghetsis is nothing compared to Roma when she's mad...AND I have to suffer that A LOT because of Isabelle...**

**Roma: NOT TRUE, GHETSIS IS MUCH MORE SCARY!**

**Isabelle: And it's not my fault she has such a short temper.**

**Roma: *eye twitch* I do NOT have a short temper. I am a calm person.**

**Me: SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU, I NEED TO FINISH THIS BEFORE YOU TWO FIGHT! So, please review...It'll save me from those maniacs. *guesters at Isabelle and Roma* So, REVIEW!**


	25. Chapter 25: Roma's POV

**Me: HOLY ARCEUS, CHAPTER 25! **

**Roma: STOP SHOUTING, GHETSIS HAS BEEN YELLING At ME AND NOW I HAVE A HEADACHE! Urgh...*holds head***

**Me: Okay, how bout you go lay down.**

**Roma: I will not be told what to do! I'll go lay down now...**

**Me: *sigh* hatever. We don't on pokemon, spheal with it.**

* * *

**Roma's POV**

****Inside, I cringed and was shaking. But on the outside, I tried to remain unaffected, if only for the sake of Stormer. He still though I was unafraid of everything.

"Who is this oddly dressed human, Mistress? And why is he SO LOUD?" Stormer asked, shaking.

Eve, on the other hand, knew exactly who he was and had her ears laid down against her head and was snarling. I knelt down and laid my left hand on Stormer's head and my right hand on Eve's head.

"Eve, cool it. Stormer, this is my grandfather, Ghetsis. Ghetsis," I looked up at him, "This is Stormer, my newest E.S. Eevee friend. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find his Poke Ball."

Ghetsis glared at Stormer, causing him to scoot closer to me for reassurance. "THERE'S ANOTHER ONE!?" Ghetsis roared, enraged.

I scratched behind Stormer's ear, attempting to calm him down. "Yes, Grandfather," I said, standing up. "Eve found him in Nimbasa and alerted me. He was bleeding and had server injuries on his leg and neck so we took him to a Poke center for extensive treatment. If you like, you can call the Poke Center. They will confirm that is what we were doing for 3 days."

"Oh, and what abut the fourth day you were absent?" he growled.

I smiled sheepishly. "Well, that was my fault. I had wanted to see a Musical or two, being back in Unova, and I dragged them along with me. I'm not sure they enjoyed it too much but I just LOVE Musicals and couldn't resist seeing one." I said.

Ghetsis rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. Then he just waved us off. "Go to bed, Princess and friend girl. Matt, some of the female grunts have asked for you." he growled, not looking at us.

Matt dashed off. I stood stock-still, not believing we just got off Scott-free. Eva tugged my hand and I snapped out of my daze.

"Thank you, my Lord," I muttered to Ghetsis. He walked off, leaving us alone in the hallway. I bent down and picked up Stormer. Whistling for Eve (There are a few distinctive whistles), we walked towards were my internal map told me our room was.

We entered the room and Eva flopped happily onto her bed.

"IT'S SO FLUFFEH!" she shouted, snuggling the blanket.

Eve snickered and said, "_I can't help thinking that Chili would be jealous of that pillow right now." _I laughed.

Eva looked at me confused, as did Stormer. I explained to Eva first.

"She said that she couldn't help thinking how jealous Chili would be of that pillow right now." I explained. Then I turned to Stormer.

"I've told you about Cress, right?" I asked.

He raised his lip a little, revealing white teeth. "Yes. I told you that if he ever hurts you, I'll hurt him badly." Stormer said.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, kay. Well, Chili is the youngest of the Straition triplets. Originally, they were Gym Leaders. But after having our battles and winning our Badges against them, I didn't want to leave and told Eva I'd go if the triplets did."

I paused for effect. "All of them eventually agreed and we set off. However,"

"Eve took a detour and you had to stop in Castelia for a bit. Then Ghetsis found out and you were captured. Yes, Eve told me that part, Mistress." Stormer informed me.

"Oh, okay," I said. "Well, we've been living here for...umm...a few months, I guess and Cress and I have been going through stupid "royalty training". And I'm pretty sure we both hated it. So, I asked to go to Nimbasa for a short trip."

"Which is where you found me!" Stormer said. I smiled and nodded. Eve laughed.

I glanced over at her. "_Look at Eva! HAHAHA!" _Eve said.

I ooked at my human travelling partner and saw her looking shocked.

"Still not over how I can talk to Pokemon?" I asked, suppressing a laugh myself.

She scowled. "I'm completely over it! I just wish I could understand what they're saying." she grumbled.

I shrugged. "It's a rare ability." I said noncommittally.

Eva tilted her head to the side. "Why do you call it an ability? That's a rare gift you have there, Roma. Why do you insist on calling it an ability?" she asked, confused.

I frowned. "It's not just a gift. It's a curse as well. I'm not antisocal because I don't like people. I'm antisocial because A) people don't like me and B) I have a past that I didn't want anyone involved in."

Eva smiled. "If that's your form of an apology, then I accept!" she said.

I shook my head. My voice was at a whisper level now. "People that have noticed me or taken pity on me wish they hadn't." I said sadly.

Eva looked confused again. "Why's that?"

"All the people that cared about me ended up horribly injured. Or, more commonly, dead."

* * *

**Me: Roma, stop overexaggerating!**

**Roma: *sadface* I'm not, that's the problem.**

**Me: WHOA...CURSE MY ABILITY TO WRITE DARK CHAPTERS! But please review anyways!**


	26. Chapter 26: White &Eva's POV(s)

**Me (pokeninja6600): HEY-O ALL! I'm actually sick with some virus so...new chapter today and most likely tomorrow as well.**

**Roma: Good news for me! I won't have to sit around for a week. Although, I'm not sure I want to be around her if she's sick...*edges away from me***

**Me: *shoots her a glare* Whatever. Okay, so review at the end and make this sick author ninja and her odd OC family happy!**

* * *

**White's POV**

"N sweetie, are you ready to go to bed?" I asked, pushing open the door to his office.

I blinked a few times, squinting into the dark room and frowned when I didn't see any sign of him. N always stayed up late, filing papers and scribbling his signature on Arceus knows what to say he approved. But tonight I found his office dark and empty.

I shrugged, trying not to think too much of it. He had probably just gone to bed early after all. I quietly closed the large door and trudged back down the long hallway towards our room, yawning. I wasn't worried, N often went to bed early when he had had a rough day, or when he had a headache; but the worry suddenly struck me when I pushed open the door to our bedroom and saw it to be empty as well.

My eyes scanned the entire room, looking for any sign of him but found nothing. A small flash of white caught my attention however and I turned to the bed, which had a small and neatly folded note placed on its surface.

One of my knees gave slightly but I willed it to keep me upright.

_'No need to worry. N probably just went on a business errand,'_ I told myself, slowly walking towards the bed and sitting down on its edge.

I picked up the small note with hesitancy and opened it.

_'My Dear White,'_

I stopped, taking a deep breath. Somehow I guess I knew what that note held, but my brain denied it until I finally read his words.

_'I am sorry to inform you of my departure. I am not sorry I'm leaving, but I am sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to you or Roma. I really need to see the world through unbiased eyes. Ever since you won in our battle I've had my curiosities and I believe the only way for me to get on with my life is to observe the interactions between Pokémon and humans around the world. _  
_I leave this note with heavy heart for I don't know if or when I'll be back. Try not to miss me too much.'_

I looked down to the bottom right hand corner to see his one letter name beautifully scrawled and a strangled cry somehow escaped my throat.

I pulled my hand up to my mouth quickly, biting down on it to try and keep myself from crying.

I should've expected this, after all N had been quite restless since our battle, now nearly eleven years ago. I had tried to convince him to let me guide him around, that Roma and I could help him discover whatever he seeked.

My mind should've been in many places, trying to figure out how to find him, or what I was going to do next. But somehow my mind was simply focused on the sudden stabbing pain in my chest.

N was gone. I knew he had said 'if and when' but I knew there wouldn't ever be a 'when'. N had gone for good. The love of my life, the only person who could clear my mind and bring me back down to Earth when I had my head in the clouds, the person who was truly my better half. My soul mate; he was gone.

"What's wrong Ms. White?" I heard Anthea's panicked voice call as she hurtled around the corner and into the room.

I looked up at her with a glassy expression, not able to conjure up a sentence so I simply resorted to handing her the note.

Her eyes scanned it, and she took in a sharp breath once she had reached the end.

"I'm so sorry Ms. White," she said sympathetically.

I nodded, blinking my eyes rapidly to get rid of the tears. I shouldn't be crying. I was a strong person, this shouldn't be happening.

Anthea sat down across from me on the bed and sighed.

"Would you like me to inform Lord Ghetsis? I believe he might be able to locate N."

I shook my head violently. I knew N didn't want to be found, and I wasn't going to give Ghetsis the satisfaction of knowing his son was once again, as he called it, 'off his rocker'.

Tears once again welled up in my eyes at the memory of how much pain he had inflicted on N.

"Oh, Ms. White, I'm so sorry," Anthea said, gently reaching out to put her hand on my shoulder.

I sniffed a few times, wiping a tear away and shook my head.

"No, it's not your fault. He always wanted to explore the world, especially after his father betrayed him like that. It was only a matter of time."

I smiled weakly, trying to put a humor into the situation, "I shouldn't have expected anything less from N, even with a daughter to raise."

My mind was then directed to Roma. What would happen to her? How would I tell her that her father had just up and left us both? But what troubled me the most was what would her life be like, growing up without a dad?

I heard a small click and my head jolted up, some part of me hoping it was N, his mind now changed. But instead I saw my little silver haired daughter peek inside and slowly walk in, her eyes full of questions.

"Hi sweetie," I said calmly, trying to compose my emotions.

She frowned slightly, "What happened to Dad?"

My eyes widened slightly. I had no idea how to break it to her, so I just said what was on my mind.

"Well dear he-" I stopped short, taking a deep breath before letting the words tumble freely, "Sweetie, N is gone. He left for, well, I don't really know where."

I suddenly felt a bit of anger towards N. How dare he leave so quickly, especially without a proper in person explanation and at the very least a goodbye.

I threw my hands up and they let out a smack when they hit my legs on the way back down.

"It's like, in five hours, your father has completely vanished off the face of this planet. Like, POOF, and he's gone."

I looked back over to Roma who had the same glassy look on her face that I had when I had found out. She blinked a few times, obviously trying to come to terms with the emotions she had. Her head began to shake slowly, denying this newly known fact.

I sighed, my heart going out to the small girl across the room. She would grow up without a father, it was sad, almost tragic. But what I would've really called tragic was the fact that she would soon grow up without a mother as well.

The next week when that man had his gun pointed at my face the only thing that went through my mind was Roma. Would she be alright? What would happen to her? No doubt my brother would want to take care of her; but did she really want that?

The last thing I remember going through my mind was a very quiet wish, you might even call it a prayer.

_'Please let Roma be alright.'_

* * *

**Eva's POV**

"All the people that cared about me ended up horribly injured. But more commonly, dead," Roma almost whispered, looking down at her lap.

Jeez, that was rather dark. I thought for a moment. Roma hadn't really told me much about anyone from her past except her father and mother. I knew N was off somewhere, possibly just fine, but her mother had died soon after he left.

Roma looked up at me with a sadness in her eyes, "I don't want to be here, Eva."

I leaned back a bit. Roma had never actually complained about residing in this castle. I knew she was annoyed by the fact she was about to become a queen but she hadn't actually said she didn't want to.

"What?" I questioned, wanting her to elaborate further.

"This place, it just reminds me of the past, and all the bad things that have happened," she said, gesturing around herself and looking up at the ceiling.

Roma never showed much emotion and so this was a rare sight. I huffed, putting on a face of determination. Roma had sacrificed herself for us, so the least I could do was get her her freedom back. Easier said than done, and yet something I was bound and determined to do.

I stood up abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Roma asked, a look of shock on her face.

I gave a lopsided smile, "I'm gonna go convince Ghetsis to let us leave."

I swore Roma's eyes couldn't have gotten any larger. She opened her mouth to say something, probably to object but I swiftly left the room before she could protest.

Roma hated it that I now stood up to Ghetsis. I was no longer afraid of him, but she was. I assumed because she had actually seen him do some drastic and horrific deeds, but I didn't need to know about those. At least not if I was going to keep the courage to keep standing up to him.

"Woah, where are you going so quickly?" I heard a charismatic voice say and my heart immediately picked up its pace.

I turned to my right to see Chili sauntering towards me, a grin on his face.

I sighed. Since Chili and I had had our…. confession of sorts, we hadn't spoken much. I personally was just too embarrassed and kept dodging him, and I could tell he was getting frustrated.

"I'm going to talk to Ghetsis."

Chili's eyes widened and he shook his head, "Nope, no you're not."

I put my hands on my hips, "Yeah huh." I blushed at the immaturity of my comeback.

"What are you talking to him about?" Chili asked skeptically.

I shrugged and kept walking. I heard quick footsteps and soon Chili was at my side, looking over at my face frantically. Roma wasn't the only one who didn't like it when I stood up to Ghetsis. Chili had expressed how concerned he was that one day the large man might hurt me. I had brushed his comments off.

"Seriously Eva, what are you talking to him about?"

I rolled my eyes and turned a corner, "I'm trying to convince him to let us and Roma go."

"WHAT?!" Chili screeched, "And how do you plan to do that?"

I blinked a few times, trying to come up with an answer, and when I couldn't I simply shrugged. I somehow had a way of convincing people. Not really sure how, but every time I seemed to say the right things. I had to give Lance credit for teaching me the art of speaking. He was quite elaborate with his words and requests as well and he had taught me some tricks of the trade over the years.

"Eva. Don't do this," Chili said sternly.

My lips twitched into a smile, "I'll be fine, Chill."

Chili let out a frustrated noise, "Don't do it!"

He quickly stepped in front of me, holding out his arms, blocking my path.

I rolled my eyes, quickly stepping to the left. He intercepted me. I stepped to the right. He intercepted me again.

I crossed my arms and huffed, tapping my foot. I saw him smirk.

"You won't do anything to get yourself hurt. Not as long as I'm here anyway."

His statement was sweet, and made my heart flutter slightly but my mind was still on the task at hand.

"Let me pass, Chili."

He shook his head, "Nope."

I stepped forward and he again mimicked my movements, blocking my path.

"Come on, Chili!"

"Nope."

I let out an irritated sound before an idea flitted across my mind and I went on a whim. I jolted forward quickly, my lips colliding with his in an instant. I felt him freeze for a moment, but in less than a second his hands were around my back, pulling me closer and his lips were moving with mine, pressing harder against my mouth.

I opened one eye. As much as I was surprisingly enjoying this, I had work to do. I quickly shoved off of his chest and darted around him, keeping my pace at a quick jog.

I listened for footsteps but didn't hear any.

"That was a dirty trick, Eva!" I heard his slightly flustered and frustrated voice call after me.

I giggled, trying to once again focus my mind on the upcoming task.

* * *

My heart rate broke records as Ghetsis drummed his fingers slowly on his desk, mulling over what I had just told him.

For the past ten minutes I had somehow come up with an entire speech to give him, making it up as I went. I had talked to him about Roma's well-being, the duties of a princess (that of which I wasn't sure, and had to improvise on several occasions), and about the triplets and I possibly causing a problem in the future.

None of those topics seemed to peak his interest much so I resorted to focusing on the one that did. The fact that when Roma and Cress were crowned in as King and Queen, he would no longer be in the throne. For the short amount of time I had known this man, I found out one major thing. He was absolutely obsessed with power. And I knew I had hit a definite sweet spot when I had told him that he would be completely powerless over Team Plasma.

Of course that probably wasn't true, the entire organization was bowing at his feet, begging for a chance to serve him. But nonetheless my words had troubled him, and I could tell.

"Fine." His word pierced the silence and my thoughts and brought me back to reality.

"What?" I asked, almost not comprehending the answer.

"Fine. You and Roma and those three boys may go out on a… journey."

I suppressed a squeal of joy and nodded.

"However!" he bellowed, once again commanding my attention, "You are not to leave the Unova region. You are to check back in with Team Plasma daily to relay your whereabouts. And you must keep Roma within safety at all times. Am I clear?"

I nodded quickly.

Since I had met Roma, all that had happened was trouble. But now I had somehow triggered something that would make her happy. A journey for all of us. It sounded fun.

* * *

**Me: This is great, isn't it Roma! You guys get to start your journey!**

**Roma: And if I know you, there's bound to be trouble.**

**Me: *grins* On that happy note, please review!**


	27. Chapter 27: Out of the old into the new

**Me: Hi! So, we left off where they will be starting their journey, right?**

**Roma: Indeed.**

**Me: Okay. This will be fuuuuuuun. Im sick, so laying in my bed, writing fanfictions...**

**Eve: Eevee. Eve, eevee eevee eve.**

**Roma: *laughs* **

**Me: OKAY I FEEL LEFT OUT SO READ PLEASE!**

* * *

**Roma's POV**

I sighed heavily, dragging my feet. I had just been called to Ghetsis' office via intercom. Probably to be lectured on silverware or something insane that he thought important. Eve was trotting faithfully at my heels, guarding my life till the end of hers. Stormer wasn't quite ready for all that so I was carrying him, despite his whining that he could walk.

I rounded the corner and saw Eva leaning against the door frame of Ghetsis' office room. I quickly slipped back behind the corner and watched as my grandfather came out in his non-Snuggie apparel. He looked down on Eva and nodded her to leave.

Eva looked about ready to argue, then thought better and waltzed away. I shot Eve a look and she raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and walked over to Ghetsis, who had his back to me.

"You requested my presence?" I asked, shocking him.

Grandfather whirled around to face me. "Princess! Do not sneak up on me like that!" he said harshly.

"I do believe you requested my presence, Grandfather." I said again. He nodded then guestered into the room. I walked in but propped open the door. One of my grandfather's most annoying habits is his burning of incense to Reshiram, my father's legend dragon. I do believe he's hoping for N to return.

I snapped back to reality as Ghetsis cleared his throat, finally settled into his chair, feet propped upon the desk. I looked at him, settling my nerves. The man's my grandfather but he sets my teeth on edge.

"It's been told to me that our dear princess is perhaps bored, unhappy even, in her castle. Is this true, Princess?" Ghetsis asked, almost uneasy.

My answer was immediate. "Yes," Then I amended myself, "Yes, Grandfather. But why would you ask such a troubling question to me?"

Ghetsis sighed and put bis feet down, guestering to a chair I should sit down in. I sat down, back straight like he taught me. He nodded almost imperceptibly, obviously noting that of which I had recalled from our lessons.

Ghetsis then stood up. "Your Trainer friend has presented me with an offer. She asked if you, her and the triplet boys could go on...a journey." He spat out the word as if it held a bad taste for him. My eyes widened. This is what Eva came to ask him about...

"I will allow you to leave. However, you must not leave the Unova region. You will check in with the Shadow Triad at the end of every day. And you will not go beyond Eva's sights. Are we clear, Princess?" Ghetsis said. I scowled at the thought of not leaving Eva's sights, seeing as I'm much faster than her, but nodded.

"Yes, Grandfather."

* * *

The next day, I sat, studying a map of Unova, in my special room. When I was a kid, N and I had been playing hide-and-seek with Matt seeking. I had stumbled upon a secret passage that lead me to this special room. Glancing around, I noticed it wasn't much different. This room had soft, fluffy purple carpeting unlike anywhere else in the castle and the walls were painted with all sorts of mystical legends from many different times, many different regions.

I assumed Ghetsis hadn't found out about it, else he would have it closed off. But I enjoyed it for the time being.I turned my attention back to the map.

"_It seems our next destination is Nacrene City."_ Eve commented, pointing at it with her fluffy paw.

"That place has the museum, right Mistress?" Stormer asked, jumping up and down because he could now use his leg. I nodded silently, not in the mood for conversation with my two oddly chatty Eevees.

"Nacrene City...Nacrene City..." I repeated, running the syllables over, around and under my tongue. "I've...I've heard of it before but...I don't know how..." I laid down on the carpet, hands behind my head, mulling it over._  
_

"Maybe Mistress heard of it from her father or mother?" Stormer said, tilting his head to the side, now done with jumping. I shook my head no.

_"Cress, Chili or Cilan?" _Eve asked. I shook no again.

"I don't remember. But...maybe it was him?" I said. Then I snapped my fingers and sat up. I looked at Eve.

"Rictor! It was Rictor! He had said he always liked museums and said there was a great one in Nacrene City in Unova!" I said. Eve still looked confused.

_"Rictor...Rictor...Rict-OH! The boy with lightning blue eyes and black hair? The one who came close to beating us and it ended in a tie? That Rictor?"_ she asked. I nodded.

"Time to go, my compadres. Eva will be getting worried, I assume." I said, standing up and stretching out. Eve and Stormer yipped in protest, reluctant to leave the beautiful room. I picked them up anyways and pressed my palm against the jewel on Dialga's chest, opening the passageway. I stepped in and closed the door then set them down.

"Do your thing, guys. Remember what we've practiced about accuracy, Stormer." I whispered. Eve made a Shadow Ball that Stormer promptly destroyed with a powerful Thunder. Surprisingly, despite thin walls, no one heard that ruckus. We ran, and it being a short passage, we made it to the end just as the light faded.

I shut the door quietly, fairly sure no one else in the castle knew about my hideout. And, quite frankly, I wanted to keep it that way. That room was my special territory, my sanctuary from the chaos that is my life.

I opened the door to that room and walked out into the hallway. The door number said it was Rom 515. I nodded and consulted my inner map of the castle. 515 is where I was, Base Floor is where I needed to be. I scanned the castle for the shortest route to the stairs and turned on my heel, the shortest route to be to go left.

* * *

We made our way to the Base Floor and saw Eva about to rampage at my lateness. I suppressed a grin. Her wrath isn't really all that harsh. I jogged over nonetheless.

"WHERE IS SHE?! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE A HALF HOUR AGO!" I heard Eva shout as I approached. Her back was to me. Again, I barely managed to suppress a grin.

"I'm right here, no need for shouting," I called to her. She whirled around and glared at me.

"Roma, what on Arceus' green earth took you so long?!" she asked, infuriated. I smiled slightly. I enjoy getting on people's nerves, no matter who they are.

"Eve, Stormer and I were studying a Unova map. I wanted to see what our destination would be. Apparently, Nacrene City. It has a Gym." I said, answering her unasked question of why Nacerene.

She held her hands up in defeat. "Okay. Nacrene it is!" Then the Shadow Triad appeared behind her. I waved and they dipped their heads in answer. I smiled; other than Matt, the Shadow Triad were my favorite.

The middle one stepped forward and spoke. "We are to accompany you on your journey. King's orders." he said. Eva looked irate and glanced at me, her eyebrow raised.

"And you're okay with this?" she asked, making sure. I shrugged and nodded.

"Hey, at least it's not any of the females. Or other males. Basically, any other grunts in general." I smiled cruelly. "They tend not to like me much." I commented.

After that brief discussion, the Triad escorted us into a heli. Needless to say, it brought back some memories. Mostly of me being tied hand and foot, about to be a princess. So, not happy memories, per say.

We landed right outside Nacrene and I wasted no time getting off that Arceus-forsaken device. The others followed. I looked around, surveying the natural beauty of, well, nature! I hadn't been outside for near a MONTH, mind you.

"Roma?" I heard a familiar voice say. I think everyone was startled. We all glanced around but none of us saw anything.

"Strange...I swear I've heard that voice before..." I muttered, still looking around. Then I looked up and almost missed him. He moved just the slightest bit and my eyes flicked back to focus on the object. He smiled down at me then jumped down, landing on his feet. He stood up and we were inches apart. I blinked and stepped back.

"Nice to see you again, love." the boy said, smiling a little. He brushed some stray strands of windswept black hair away from his face.

"Rictor..." I breathed. He smiled and tilted his head a little.

"In the flesh!" Rictor smiled, showing perfect white teeth. He looked at his apparel with disdain. "Before you say anything, it is supposedly camouflage." he muttered, glancing back up at me with an exasperated expression. I grinned.

"Yeah, I assumed as much. Green really doesn't suit you though." I said. I turned to face my group.

"Oh...you guys don't...Oh whoopsies!" I said, scratching the back of my head. "This is Rictor. He was my travelling buddy back from the end of Kanto to the middleish part of Sinnoh. After that we lost touch. But he's a good friend." I said, looking back at him.

_"Not only that...But I can read, control and speak through the mind." _Rictor added telepathically. Eva clapped her hands over her head.

"STAY OUTTA MY MIND YOU CREEPER BOY!" she exclaimed. I chuckled and Rictor and I slapped a high five. Rictor looked at me with lightning blue eyes. "So, where are you guys headed?"

* * *

**Me: HOLY FLIPPING CRACKERS THAT WAS LOOOOOOOONG! Okay, no long A/N so please just review.**


	28. Chapter 28: Eva's POV

**Me: HIIIIII! NEW CHAPPIE! I am actually in a hurry so there won't be a long author's forenote today. read and review!**

* * *

"So where are you guys headed?" Rictor questioned.

"Well, we were planning on challenging the Nacrene City gym leader today," Roma answered, shooting a glance back at me.

I still had my hands clapped over my head, trying to block whatever crazy mind games this boy could play. He could read minds? He could look at everything I was thinking? What if I was thinking about food, could he see that? Or what if I was thinking about Chili?

I blushed slightly and I heard Rictor chuckle.

"The answer to all of your questions is most certainly yes," he said with a devilish smirk.

I pressed my hands harder against my head, trying to convince myself if I wrapped my arms around my head tight enough I would create some sort of barrier.

"Anyway," Rictor said, turning his attention back to Roma, "It is lovely to finally see you again darling."

With that he then leaned down and gently placed a kiss on one of Roma's hands. My eyes widened and I quickly looked to Cress. Sure enough the blue haired boy looked as if he could burst a blood vessel any moment.

I grimaced; this didn't look like an ideal situation. Cress was quite calm, but when it came to Roma it was a completely different story.  
Just as Cress started to step forward, his hands balled into fists, Roma jerked her hand away from Rictor's grasp and glared at him.

"Rictor, I would like you to meet my boyfriend Cress," Roma said, a smile tugging at her lips as Rictor shot a glare at the water type trainer.

"Nice to meet you," Cress said through gritted teeth and held out his hand reluctantly.

Rictor took it and I could almost feel the tension in the air as they had one of the most awkward and stiff handshakes I had ever witnessed.

"Sheesh, this is awkward," Chili leaned over and whispered in my ear.

I nodded, "Tell me about it."

Rictor jerked his hand away from Cress' and ran it through his tousled hair.

"So Nacrene City gym it is then, love," he purred towards Roma and held out his arm for her to take.

She rolled her eyes and began walking towards the large museum-like structure in front of us. Rictor looked a bit offended and shot another glare at Cress as he quickly walked after Roma. Chili, Cilan, and I were in quick pursuit and I made sure and gave Rictor a death glare as well as I passed him to walk up the steps to the building.

I saw him shrug and run ahead to open the door for Roma.

"Oy," I heard Chili groan and I chuckled. Yes, this was definitely going to be an interesting situation.

Within moments we were inside of the gym, the curator giving us a tour. After the brief walk around the museum he lead us back to the gym portion of this building and motioned to a door.

"That is where the gym leader resides. Please only one challenger at a time."

With that the man was gone and I sighed. It was a rather large room that almost reminded me of a Pokémon Center. There were chairs and benches scattered all about and a few telephones with Pokémon transport machines attached to them in the corner.

"I'm going first," Rictor said with a huff and a smirk in our direction before disappearing beyond the door the curator had motioned to.

"Rude! Ladies should always go first!" Cress shouted after him.

I rolled my eyes and smiled slightly before turning to Chili.

"So are you going to be challenging the gym?"

He shook his head, "Naw, I think I'll be good just accompanying on this journey."

I nodded and plopped down in one of the many padded chairs. I noticed Roma and Cress had sat side by side, Eve in Roma's lap and Stormer in Cress'. I glanced around for Cilan and realized he was at the vending machine whispering to himself about how low quality and cheap all food not made by him was.

"What Pokémon do you have Chili?" I asked.

He smirked and quickly dug out six pokeballs. He threw them into the air and within moments the white lights had dimmed to reveal his team.

I gaped. First to appear was his tiny Pansear, happily chirping. All the others in the line were much more powerful however and dwarfed the tiny monkey.

Arcanine, Magmortar, Heatmor, Darmanitan, and Camurupt were the Pokémon that were revealed and I had to admit I was impressed. I felt a slight pang of longing in my heart however. I had left almost all of my Pokémon behind in Kanto. I had of course taken Absol, and he was quite powerful but the only other Pokémon I had was Houndour, which I had caught on a whim in Johto before my flight to Unova, so he was still quite inexperienced.

Chili called back his Pokémon and smiled, "Cress and Cilan also have more powerful teams; we just don't bring them out very often."

I nodded, still deep in thought about my Pokémon at home. I was eager to get to the Unova region. This region has many amazing dark types, but I hadn't run into any yet.

A piercing ring jolted me out of my thoughts and I looked over to one of the phones in the corner which was now shaking violently.

I made a face but stood up and cautiously made my way over to the phone. I pressed the large green button on the screen and an image appeared.

"Grand-" I started in surprise, seeing my grandmother's face appear on the screen but she cut me off mid-sentence.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEEN?" she shouted and I jumped, my eyes widening and my arms flailing out to the sides.

"Unova," I answered curtly, trying to get my heart calmed back down.

"Why haven't you called?" she asked in an accusatory tone. I loved my grandmother, but she still could scare the living hell out of me with one glare.

"Um, well, you see…" I trailed off, deciding not to inform her of the entire situation, "I was just quite busy."

She squinted one eye, looking at me carefully. Agatha could usually almost smell when someone wasn't telling the truth but her face quickly lightened when another figure stepped into her line of view.

"Who are you talking to Eva? Is this your mother?" Chili questioned as he stepped beside me and I could hear the grin in his voice.

I rolled my eyes. Agatha was never impressed by flattery; it got you absolutely nowhere, so it surprised me to see her smile slightly.

"I see you have a gym leader with you," she said with a smile.

I could almost feel Chili puff his chest out in pride, "You bet. And I am taking good care of your granddaughter-"

I slapped my hand to Chili's face and pushed him out of view, utterly disinterested in hearing the pointless ramblings he would come up with.

"So why did you call Grandma?" I questioned.

She gave me a warm smile, "I was just calling to see how you are doing, and if you want any of your Pokémon either, some of them are starting to get antsy," she said, looking past the screen and grimacing.

I nodded, "You know what, actually I do want one. Can you give me… Ty?" I asked and she vigorously nodded.

"Yes, please take him; he doesn't get along well with my ghost types."

I chuckled and eagerly grabbed the pokeball as soon as it had materialized on my end. I held it to my cheek and snuggled it, almost feeling my beloved Pokémon snuggling back.

"Well if that's all I actually have to go," Agatha said, "You know, challengers and all."

I nodded and said a quick goodbye before the screen clicked to black.

I whirled around as I heard the doors burst open and Rictor strutted through, his hands in his pockets.

"How'd it go?" Roma asked, sounding like she already regretted her question.

Rictor whipped out a Basic badge and winked, "And that is how it's done."

I rolled my eyes; this guy had an ego the size of the sun.

Roma turned to me, "Can I go next Eva?"

I nodded, "Sure thing, good luck!" I said, throwing her a thumbs up as she pushed her way through the doors and into the gym leader's quarters.

* * *

**Roma: *smiles dreamily* It's been a time since I've battled...I LOVE GYM BATTLES! *goes to train***

**Me: *facepalm* Oh, Roma...Anyways, REVIEW!**


	29. Chapter 29: Rictor and Roma

**Me: Hey, I'm starting with Rictor's and finishing with Roma's. Like the last, no long AFN so you can go ahead and read.**

* * *

**Rictor's POV**

I walked out after my successful battle with the Gym Leader, Lenora. I smiled as I felt happiness emanating from Scizor's pokeball. My partner's happiness was contagious.

As I reached for the door handle to walk back into the common room, I wiped my face of all emotion. I couldn't express joy for fear of Roma's "boyfriend" lording it over me. I walked into the room, my trembling hands stuffed in my pockets and my head held up.

"How'd it go?" Roma asked immediately. I whipped out my Basic Badge and winked at her.

"That's how it's done." I said smugly. Eva rolled her eyes.

_'He's got an ego the size of the sun!'_ My mouth twitched towards a smile at her thought. It was true, I had a large ego. However, I had power to back it. I decided to let the comment pass.

Roma looked at Eva. "Can I go next, Eva?" The black haired maiden shrugged and waved her on. Roma smiled (I swear I melted; I just love her smile) and whistled for her Eevees. Eve passed me by without looking at me.

Eve and I have a mutual relationship: We don't really interact, so we stay on each others' good sides. However, the newest edition, Stormer, was extremely wary of both me and Cress. He snarled at me as he passed to battle.

I yawned and collapsed on the couch, letting out Scizor and Skarmory so they could stretch or nap or whatever. I closed my eyes, hoping for a nap in between all their battles. My feet dangled off the edge of the couch and I swung them a little, using the rhythm as an incentive for sleep.

Suddenly, an onslaught of emotions drowned my senses. That meant there were eyes focused on me. I carefully picked out Cress', Cilan's, Chili's and Eva's. I opened my eyes and adjusted my head to stare at them.

"What?"

"Like you don't already know, mind reader!" Cress snarled. Cilan put a hand on Cress' shoulder, probably a warning.

"Well, I was wondering what kinds of Pokemon you used. I'm a Gym Leader, so I like to know these things." Chili said, running a hand through his spiked hair. Then he gave a charismatic grin, which had probably gotten answers (and maybe something more) from women before.

I rolled my eyes, "Steel. I train Steel types but I also enjoy the company of Flying types Pokemon. Thus, Scizor; my first Pokemon, and Skarmory; my more recent edition." I said.

"So, are you planning on challenging the League?" Cilan asked, noting my Basic Badge. I studied the medal for a few moments. I hadn't fared so well in other Leagues, for Roma had beat me to the top rank of Champion.

"Yes, I plan on it." I said finally. Cilan, Chili and Eva smiled. I became a little suspicious.

Cilan looked nonchalantly at Chili. "I have no type advantadge." He said.

Chili smiled and looked to Cress. "I have no reason to battle him."

Cress and I sized each other up. Oh yes, this would be great fun for me. Cress, water master, would be my Straition battle opponent. I smiled charmingly at him. He glared at me in turn.

"Ah, revenge is sweet; a dish best served cold, lover boy." I said airily. I tend toward the dramatic side. He nodded.

Just then, Roma returned from her battle. Originally, she walked in beaming. But she saw Cress and I facing off and she rolled her eyes.

"Did I mention you two have to share a room?" she asked, already prepared for the outburst of opinion next.

We both leaped up. "I AM NOT SHARING A ROOM WITH _HIM_!" we shouted simultaneously, pointing at each other and glaring.

Roma stared me straight in the eye. On the inside, I felt my determination fading away fast. She is so Arceus dang beautiful...and when she stares at me like that...Ooh, she makes me dizzy in the head!

"Yes, you will. You two will share a room and you will not kill each other." Roma said, her gaze still meeting mine. I caved, personally wanting nothing more than to hold her in my arms and kiss her till I was dizzy. I nodded absentmindedly, a glazed look coming over my face.

"Well, lover boy, I guess we're room mates." I said. Then I tore my eyes away from Roma and turned on my heel, going to investigate the local Poke Center.

**Roma's POV**

I smiled victoriously as I watched Rictor leave to scope out the Center. I glanced over at Eva, who was staring openmouthed in his direction. I stifled a laugh.

She snapped out of it and walked over by me. "How do you have that much control over him?" she asked, shooing away the boys.

I sighed and lay down on a couch. "Back in Hoenn...some, ah, stuff happened between us...I had developed feelings for him. He quite obviously returned them and one night, I was facing with my back towards him after a sparring session. I think I was washing my face or something. But he came up behind me, wrapped his arm around my waist and twirled me around so that our faces were inches apart. He put his forehead against mine and told me to tell him if I wanted him to stop." I paused my tale to look at Eva. She had a look of disgust on her face.

"Roma, that's gross! You kissed Rictor? That's just wrong!" she protested. I smiled lightly.

"To be more correct, Rictor kissed me."

"Did you return the kiss?" she asked, her tone pleading I say no. I smiled lightly again, remembering the times.

"I did." Eva looked as though she would die.

"ARCEUS HAVE MERCY! ROMA, WHAT WAS WRONG WITH YOUR JUDGEMENT BACK THEN?!" she asked in disgust. I raised an eyebrow.

"Back then? How do you know/ think you know that my opinion's changed since then?" I asked.

* * *

**Me: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CLIFFY! I LOVE TORTURING YOUS! Please review!**


	30. Chapter 30: Eva, Cilan, Third

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! DO NOT BLAME POKE-LOVER FOR THIS LATE CHAPTER, IT'S MY FAULT I'M SO SORRY!**

**Rictor: Ninja got a new computer. She employed all of us and our expertise to help install it.**

**Roma: WHICH mean she did it herself. Because we technically aren't real.**

***Ahem* Are we done now?**

**Roma, Rictor: *shrug* Yeah.**

**Okay, so this was written by Poke-Lover88 and posted (VERY VERY LAAAATE!) by moi!**

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**Eva's POV**

"Eva?" Roma questioned, sitting up on the couch.

When she didn't get a response she chuckled and flopped back down.

"You know if you keep your mouth open like that, you'll catch Flygons."

With a bit of effort I willed my mouth to close, wiping the shocked look off of my face.

So Roma used to like Rictor, and not only that, but perhaps she still did? That was what she had just insinuated right?

I took a few deep breaths, trying to comprehend everything that had just been thrown at me. It was ridiculous. Roma needed to have some sense smacked into her.

"ROMA! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" I shouted, surprised at the volume I achieved.

She jumped slightly, her eyes whipping over to me. "What do you mean?"

I glanced around and when I saw that all three triplets weren't within earshot I sat down on the couch next to Roma and continued.

"Roma! You have a boyfriend!" I hissed.

She pulled a face, "Yeah, so?"

I threw my arms up in the air, silently asking Arceus to give me patience.

"So, if you knew you still liked this Rictor character," I said, gesturing out the door, "Why did you decide to lead Cress on?"

"I didn't lead Cress on, Eva," Roma said, looking almost annoyed, "I like them both. Simple as that."

I smacked both hands over my face and took another few deep breaths. This was crazy. I hadn't ever heard about Rictor before about an hour ago and now he was ranked just as high as Cress was in Roma's book.

I frowned and looked back to Roma, about to begin a lecture when a voice interrupted the quiet.

"The Gym Leader is ready for her next challenger."

"That'd be you," Roma said, smiling.

I pursed my lips together and stood up quickly, mentally reminding myself not to let Roma off the hook so easily.

"Good luck, Eva!" I heard Chili yell from the other side of the room.

My features softened and I smiled back at him, nodding before disappearing into the Gym Leader's headquarters.

* * *

**Cilan's POV**

"I'm going to find him right now. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" Cress growled, hands bunched into fists as he watched Rictor saunter towards the Pokémon Center.

I placed a hand on his shoulder again, suddenly realizing it would most likely be my job to keep my brother from killing this steel type trainer.

"Now, now, brother. Don't be hasty."

Cress shot a glare back at me before sighing and flopping down in a chair.

"I don't get this," Cress whispered, putting his hands over his face.

I sighed, sitting down in the chair across from him.

"We all knew Roma had a past, Cress."

He peered through his fingers, "I know, but I never thought I'd have to be worrying about Roma liking another boy."

I cocked my head to the side, "We don't know if she returns his affections."

Cress brought his hands down and rolled his eyes, "Come on. She looks at him in a special way. You can tell."

I sighed. It was true, there was a spark in her eyes when she looked at Rictor. I had just hoped that Cress hadn't noticed it.

"Don't worry Cress, she loves you."

Cress nodded, a slight coloring brushing across his cheeks, "I know."

I smiled, "And surely there is some reason that she left him before."

Cress' expression turned to one of deep thought as he nodded.

Good. It appeared that would give him some hope anyway. Along with the fact that he was technically still dating Roma.

I turned to my right as I heard a bang and realized the door to the Gym Leader was now wide open, a happy looking Eva standing in the doorway.

"Two down, six to go!" she yelled, throwing a thumbs up to Chili who looked like he could burst with pride.

"Oh and by the way Roma!" she said, sounding giddy as she skipped over to where the silver haired girl was sitting.

Roma yawned, "Yeah?"

"Well," Eva started, "I was given a bit of time to think during that battle and I realized something."

One of Roma's eyebrows rose.

"What would Ghetsis think of this little crush? He is dead set on Cress being King one day, so what do you think he'd do if he found out there might be someone who is distracting you?"

Roma's face paled and she stood up with a jolt, "Eva, don't tell him."

The raven haired girl nodded slightly, sensing the urgency in Roma's voice.

Roma relaxed, but it was short lived as an unknown person cleared their throat. Roma whipped around and tensed once again.

She cursed under her breath before plopping back down in the seat.

"What?" Eva questioned, looking around the room.

Roma buried her face in her hands, "The Shadow Triad."

"Eh?" Eva questioned, looking just about as confused as I felt.

Roma sighed, "Grandfather sent the Shadow Triad to look after us, and they just heard all of that. Which means it is only a matter of time before Ghetsis himself finds out."

**Third person's POV**

Ghetsis looked up from his paperwork as he heard a swift knock at the door. He huffed and swiveled his chair to face it.

"Come in."

The door hesitantly creaked open and three white haired men walked in.

Ghetsis' expression immediately lightened and he clasped his hands together, "What can I do for you boys?"

The Shadow Triad looked to one another before the tallest one stepped forward.

"My lord, it appears there might be a problem with Roma."

Ghetsis' visible eye widened and he stood up with a jolt, "What's wrong?"

"Well, uh…" the Triad member trailed off.

Ghetsis leaned forward in anticipation.

"You see…" he trailed off again, not able to finish his statement.

"Spit it out boy!" Ghetsis barked and all three members stiffened.

The Triad member sighed before walking closer to Ghetsis and whispering something in his ear. The remaining two members cringed as Ghetsis' eye widened further and further with each word their comrade spoke.

After a moment the man stepped back and sighed.

Dead silence filled the room; the only sound heard was the ticking of the clock in the corner.

Ghetsis' hands suddenly clenched into fists, "SHE WHAT?!"


	31. Chapter 31: Rictor and Roma

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi there, readers! **

**Rictor: Greetings.**

**Roma: Word up!**

**Stormer and Eve: *bark at screen***

**Me: *deathglare* Did I ****_offer _****for you guys to invade my Author's Forenote?!**

**Roma: I always do...And Rictor has since he was introduced...And you didn't stop us so...Yes...**

**Me: SHADDUP I'M WRITING! Okay, Ima clear this up. RICTOR HAS STEEL GRAY EYES! I changed it because when I drew and colored both him and Stormer I realized they looked remarkably similar...SO I changed his eye color. AAAAAND Ima end this now, I don't own Pokemon, please ignore my ramblings KTHXBIE PLZ READ!**

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**Rictor's POV  
**

After scouting out the Center and getting our rooms at a fair price, (there was a newbie counter girl and she thought me attractive) I told the counter girl to watch for my friends. She gave me an odd look.

"How will I recognize them?" she asked. The question probably made sense to her but I laughed.

I paused to brush some hair out of my face before saying, "My friends are rather distinctive, you'll see. A girl with two irregular Eevees and silver hair should be escorted either by a black haired maiden or the Striation triplets. Perhaps both. The blue haired boy will seem rather possessive of her. The silver haired girl will want to come and check in here. Give her this, please," I handed her a note with the room key and an explanation of my disappearance.

I smiled charmingly and touched her hand, "Thank you, miss. You have saved me much trouble." She blushed and searched for some words to say. I chuckled and walked out.

As I strolled to the edge of the city, I gave a little thought to my issue. I could have practically any woman I wanted at any point in time. But not the one I want. I want Roma for myself. When we traveled together, she would constantly call me her best friend. I grew more and more impatient with the title but bode my time until that fateful sparing lesson in Hoenn.

But she's moved on, after a different incident. I was separated from my Roma on board a ship en route to Sunyshore City. I lost track of her and traveled here, to Unova as one of the first people to traverse this region. I was 14. That was a year ago. Also a year ago, I heard a rumor about a princess in a Castelia school. My thoughts immediately went to my beloved. But, by the time I got there to find out, she had left. At that point, I was sure. Roma never liked staying in one particular spot, and nor do I. We were nomad-like for the time we traveled together. It seems she still is that way.

Finally, I drew near the edge of the city. It was not crowded so I brought out Scizor and Skarmory. I looked at my eager Pokemon and the thought was immediately understood. It's a tradition. We flew through the trees at night and normally slept during the day. The day previous I had slept completely through. But, now we were back on track and Scizor and Skarmory took off like jets through the deep night sky.

Myself, I chased after them to a near tree. Then, with the kinetic energy rolling, I jumped, my long, slender fingers grabbing a branch tightly. Inertia kept my body moving forward and as that peaked, I let go, arm already outstretched to grab my next branch. On occasion, between branches I would calculate the distance and my speed and if certain requirements were met, I would let go as the inertia peaked, flip once or twice an still reach the branch.

After an hour or so of that, I decided it was time to head back. I let the inertia peak and fall as I dropped slowly to a large branch beneath the one I was swinging from. Placing one hand against the trunk of the tree and the other in my mouth, I whistled long and loud.

Within minutes, Skarmory was flying reluctantly towards me, not at all eager to end his joy fly. Scizor, however, jetted toward me with something in his arms. He hovered near my branch and handed it to me. I took it and noted the fur was shaggy and covering the Pokemon's eyes. It stirred weakly and bit my hand.

"Ssssss, ow!" I whisper-shouted. Then it struck me. This was a Deino, the very Pokemon Eva had been ranting about wanting in her head. My mind automatically went to blackmail but I pushed off the urge, reminding myself that she was Roma's friend and so, if not my friend, definitely not my enemy. I gently gave the he-Deino back to Scizor and gave them the go-ahead, saying they could go back and that I'd be at the Center soon.

I took a deep breath and leaped off the branch, into the cold, dark night.

* * *

**Roma's POV**

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, FALLING FOR THIS NEW BOY!" Ghetsis roared as I answered the Xtransceiver on the outskirts of Nacrene City. It was maybe two minutes into the conversation and I could already feel my famous Harmonia temper biting at me. I suppressed it but allowed a little aggravation into my words.

"Grandfather, you knew I traveled with a boy for most of my journey." I reminded him. He put a hand to his temple.

"Princess, I thought it was the Red boy in Johto and Kanto. And as for Hoenn, I didn't realize this. Sinnoh, I thought it was that Lucas kid. I DIDN'T know it was THIS BOY!" he said loudly. Fortunately, sparing me a response, Matt decided then would be a good time to interrupt.

He walked in, "My Lord!" he said, his hand still on the doorknob. Ghetsis whirled around, not in the mood to be bothered.

"CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I AM BUSY?! WHAT IS IT?!" he shouted at Matt. Matt cringed a little.

"Sage Zinzolin has requested a meeting in Room 919, Sire." Matt said, preparing himself for another reprimanding. Shockingly, it didn't come. Instead, Ghetsis turned back to me.

"We WILL discuss this later, Princess." The he ended the call. I rolled my eyes and stuffed the phone in my pocket. I was strolling back to the Poke Center and things happened in quick succession. I remember not looking to cross the street to get to the Center. I heard my name shouted and stopped in the middle of the road, looking for where it came from.

It came, louder this time. "ROMA!" Then a solid mass slammed into me, just as I had seen the bright headlights of an oncoming car. The impact sent me sprawling across the cement, into the grass. I closed my eyes and heard a squealing of tires then a few gunshots. After it was gone, I opened my eyes and looked out onto the street for my savior.

"OmiArceus...OH MY ARCEUS, RICTOR!" I shouted. I dashed over to him and dragged his limp body to the side of the road. It was clear he wasn't dead because he resisted a lot. I knelt by his side and swiped his bangs out of his face. It was scarred from contact with the pavement. He groaned and opened his eyes.

His eyes mat mine and he smiled, despite the obvious pain it caused him. He lifted a shaking hand and ran his thumb along my jawline.

"I've always told you I would take a bullet for you, love," he grimaced as he placed a hand on a wound in his side, "but I never thought I would ever have to." He smiled weakly, trying to put some humor in this situation. Tears threatened my touch facade. Rictor clicked his tongue.

"No, no, no. Don't cry, darling. I won't let go that easily. I can't have that water Trainer have you all to himself, now can I? But, just for the record, I'd do it again. This, right here," he said, trying to sit up. "Forever and always. Ask me ten years from now if I'd redo this, the answer will still be yes. It always has Roma. Because I love you. Forever and always."

* * *

**Me: D'AAAAAWWWWWW! FLUFFEH ENDING! *rolls in fluff***

**Cress: *deathglare***

**Rictor: Thanks for that, Ninja...*sarcasm***

**Roma: Oh Arceus...This'll be such fun to deal with! *obvious sarcasm***

**Me: *stops and looks up* Oddabilityshipping chapter...It had to happen...YOU ALL KNEW IT HAD TO HAPPEN, PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL MEH WHAT YA THINK!**


	32. Chapter 32: Eva's POV

**Me: Wow...This is long...**

**Rictor: *hurt look* Roma, YOU PROMISED!**

**Roma: But...but Rictor...YOU NEEDED HELP!**

**Rictor: I AM FIIINEEE!**

**Me: NOPE, DONE!**

* * *

**Eva's POV**

****"No…. nononono NO!" Rictor yelled, getting steadily louder as he dug his heels into the pavement, trying to resist Roma's pushing.

"Oh hush it," Cress growled, hands stuffed in his pockets, apparently not too happy with the attention Roma was giving Rictor.

"I will NOT, I repeat NOT go to a hospital!"

Roma rolled her eyes and continued pushing him towards the building in the distance which would give him the medical attention he needed.

I gave the back of Rictor's head an odd look. Why was he resisting this? For Arceus sake, he was shot! And he had a nasty looking gash on the back of his neck. I squinted at it, no, that definitely did not look good.

"Oh come on Roma, please. Look, I'm just fine!" Rictor pleaded, moving his arms and legs about, letting her know he still had full range of motion.

Roma pursed her lips and kept shoving him along.

Rictor gave a panicked glance back at the triplets, "Come on guys, help me out here!"

No responses were given and I huffed. Cress just wanted Rictor to be uncomfortable, so obviously he wasn't against the idea of Rictor going to the hospital, a place he apparently hated. And by now I had the feeling Cilan and Chili were almost indifferent, looking quite close to bored as they sauntered after us.

Rictor pleaded, "Eva! Come on, don't let her take me!"

I was shocked that he had addressed me. We had a clear understanding of one another, I didn't like him, and so he didn't talk to me, but he was breaking that invisible rule now.

"I don't know Rictor," I started, leaning over a bit to look at the cut on his neck, "I think maybe you need to be seen."

Rictor threw his arms up in the air, flinching slightly, because of the pain I presume, before sighing and slouching over, apparently resigning to his fate.

"In you go," Roma said, steering him to the right and through a pair of sliding glass doors.

I had been in a few Pokémon Centers in Unova, all of which looked almost identical to the ones in other regions, but I had yet to go into a hospital. And boy, was it different. Usually hospitals are white, quiet, clean, but this one was quite different. Black marble floors, and grey walls, people yelling and bustling about, shouting orders at one another as patients were carted this way and that.

"No… nononono." Rictor began his onslaught of 'no's' once again. "Don't let them take me," he whispered.

I made a face. What was his deal with hospitals? They weren't THAT scary.

After a bit of a struggle, we had made it to the front counter and Roma had pinned Rictor to the wall with her knee, immobilizing him from making an escape.

"Excuse me," Roma said in a polite tone, but I could hear the underlying urgency.

The lady at the front counter swiveled in her chair to face us and gave a warm smile, "How can I help you?"

"Um, well, my friend here...…" Roma trailed off.

I could tell she didn't really know how to start, and I didn't blame her.

"Him," I said, pointing to a struggling Rictor, one hand still over the blood-caked wound in his side.

"Oh good Arceus boy! What happened to you?" the woman asked.

A rhetorical question I realized as she bolted from her seat and immediately called for help.

As a stretcher rounded the corner a few moments later, headed for Rictor, I swore I saw a hint of green in his features.

"Oh lord, I'm gonna be sick," he whispered as the two nurses yanked him from his standing position and onto the stretcher.

"Have fun!" Cress called after him with a devilish smirk.

"Hey," Roma hissed, elbowing him in the side, "Be nice."

As Rictor, now just a tiny dot at the end of the hall, disappeared from sight, we were left in silence. What now? I sighed, looking around and after a few minutes of weighing my options I decided to simply wait. I steered myself to the nearest set of chairs and plopped down.

"How long do you think it's going to take?" Roma questioned, sitting in the chair on my right, concern evident in her voice.

Cress and Cilan both shrugged, sitting down as well. Cress took his place on the other side of Roma, gently grasping her hand. Cilan made the move to sit next to me but was promptly shoved out of the way by Chili and forced to sit in the seat two to my left.

I gave Chili a confused look as he sat down, looking proud that he had averted his brother away from the seat he wanted.

I crossed my legs, preparing myself for a long wait. With the wounds Rictor had, I had no doubt it would take a while before they were done with him. I didn't know whether or not he would need surgery to remove the bullet, and so our time in the hospital would vary greatly depending on that fact.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as I felt something warm curl around my left hand. I glanced down and realized Chili had cautiously entwined his fingers with mine, a look of embarrassment on his face.

"Sorry," he said quickly, pulling his hand away.

I blinked a few times, trying to bring together my thoughts before shaking my head and reaching out to grasp his hand again.

He grinned, his face flushing red, just like mine already had.

"Oh!" I said, remembering something I had meant to ask Roma, "Why is Rictor so opposed to hospitals?" I questioned, turning to my right.

Roma's currently serious expression turned to one of amusement, "That's a story for another time," she said, chuckling lightly.

I made a face but decided not to push further.

In all honesty it didn't take long for Rictor to be treated; however it felt like an eternity. I don't think any of us were very patient, and so our anxiousness just seemed to rub off on one another. I tried to busy myself with counting tiles in the floor, counting tiles in the ceiling, heck we even played with a deck of cards Cilan had on hand, however the time just seemed to inch by.

I still greatly disliked Rictor, however I DO have a heart, and so I wasn't going to lie, I was a bit worried.

About an hour and a half after Rictor had been carted off, a nurse walked into the waiting room and addressed us. Apparently Rictor was going to be just fine. They did end up having to take him into surgery to remove the bullet, but it wasn't any big deal, no complications, and it hadn't hit any vital organs.

The nurse said he was just fine, and waking up now, if we wanted to see him.

Roma jolted into a standing position but the nurse hesitated to lead us.

"Um, he actually requested to see someone first," the woman explained, glancing from me to Roma and then back again, "Someone by the name of Eva?"

Roma nearly choked, and so did I.

"Um, no, I'm good," I said nervously. I was worried about him, but I sure as hell still didn't really care to engage in a conversation with that boy.

The nurse pursed her lips together, "He said you would say that, and also said just to trust him."

I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Might as well just get this over with. I stood up quickly and stiffly, and the nurse began walking me down the hall.

I could feel Roma's worry all the way down the hall as I walked and even as I was lead through a door and into a small room where a very dazed looking Rictor was lying.

The nurse gave a gesture before leaving the room. I robotically walked to the edge of his bed and he smiled.

"Heh, didn't think you'd actually listen, though I'm glad you did."

I rolled my eyes. He was still quite out of it due to the anesthesia.

"What do you want, Rictor?" I asked, now not worried about keeping the sting out of my tone, as we had just found out he was going to be fine.

"I wanted to give you something," he said, reaching and snapping a pokeball off of his belt.

I gave him a skeptical look as he pressed the small white button in the middle and the contraption opened. A flash of white was seen and in a moment dimmed, revealing a creature who was now sitting on Rictor's lap.

I took in a sharp breath. A Deino. One of, if not THE cutest Pokémon in my mind. I couldn't help but gawk at the creature. Did he really mean it for me? Or was he just kidding and wanted to rub it in my face?

Rictor reached both hands out to grab the Deino but quickly recoiled as the small creature chomped down on one of his fingers.

"Sssss, hey!" he growled, glaring at the Deino.

I grinned. Oh yes, I think this Deino and I will definitely get along just fine.

Rictor looked to me and then nodded at the dragon type in his lap, obviously not wanting his fingers to be used as a teething toy again.

I gently outstretched one hand and let it smell me before attempting to lift it. When I wasn't met with any aggression I gently placed both hands on the tiny Deino and lifted it into my arms. He looked hesitant for a moment before letting off a low growly purr and snuggling into my arms.

I swore my smile couldn't have gotten any larger.

"So he's for me?" I asked, my eyes never leaving the Pokémon in my arms.

"Yep, all yours."

I quickly looked back to Rictor with a confused expression, "Is this some kind of trick? Are you going to ask for something in return?"

He sighed, apparently expecting this kind of answer, "No Eva. I heard how much you wanted one, so when Scizor found and brought him back to me," he said, motioning to the Deino, "I decided I'd give it to you…"

His mouth stayed open and I could tell he wasn't finished, but hesitant to continue.

I nodded for him to go on.

"As a peace treaty," he said quietly.

My eyebrows scrunched together. That was definitely not what I had been expecting.

"A peace treaty for what?"

Rictor rolled his eyes, "For Roma. I know you don't like me, because you believe I have 'stolen her from Cress'," he said, using his hands to make air quotes on the last part.

I grimaced, he had once again infiltrated my mind. Creepy.

"Listen Eva, you have to trust me on this one. I will take care of Roma and love Roma more than anyone else. She is my world. You have to remember I was actually the one who protected her throughout the Hoenn region, and I didn't do too bad now did I?" he said, aggravation in his tone.

He was frustrated, I could tell. Not only with the situation with Cress, but because one of Roma's friends, me, didn't approve of him. And I think Rictor knew as well as anyone how much friends meant to Roma.

I sighed.

"Please," he said quietly.

I had never since I met Rictor seen a genuine look on his face. But in that moment, he had the most genuine look of begging, and pain on his face that I nodded. Rictor definitely was something special, who knows, maybe Cress was actually the one who stole Roma from Rictor.

He grinned and I lost it.

"STAY OUTTA MY MIND YOU CREEP!"

He chuckled, "Don't worry, I don't do it often. But yes, I think your thoughts are starting to get on the right track."

I huffed and snatched Deino's pokeball off the bedside table and stuffed it into my bag.

"Now get up, the nurse said you were ready to be dismissed."

He gave a confused look, "Already?"

"Yes, 'already', you invalid, now let's go!"

Rictor cracked a smile before swinging his legs out of bed and nearly dashing out the door ahead of me.

I shook my head. He REALLY didn't like hospitals.

By the time I made it back to the waiting room everyone was almost ready to go. Cress was signing a few discharge papers and Roma was crushing Rictor in a hug.

Cilan was looking back and forth from his blue haired brother to Rictor with an exasperated look on his face, and Chili was bounding up to me.

"Hey, who's this?" Chili asked, looking shocked as he glanced at the now sleeping Deino in my arms.

I grinned, "Um, a settlement."

"A what?"

I shook my head, "Never mind."

Within the minute we had walked back into the city and turned to our right. Castelia City was our next destination, and I was relying on Cilan and Roma to guide the way.

We all began walking but stopped to look back as we heard a voice.

"Hey, uh guys?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see Rictor, sheepishly scratching the back of his head about ten paces behind.

"Yeah?" Roma asked.

"Uh, I was actually wondering if maybe I could come along with you guys, you know. Not that I want to intrude on your journey or anything!" he added quickly. "I just thought it might be fun."

"Sure!" Roma said, smiling.

"No! No way!" Cress growled.

Roma gave him a disbelieving look.

"Well that's one for yes and one for no," Rictor said, walking forward a bit.

"Sorry Rictor, but I say no as well," Cilan said, looking a bit like he pitied the black haired trainer.

"I'm fine with it," Chili said, still looking indifferent on the matter, almost like he was oblivious to anything that was happening in the awkward love triangle between Rictor, Roma, and Cress.

"Alright, two for yes and two for no. Eva, deciding vote," Rictor said, his voice shaking with anticipation.

I gulped. I didn't like being put on the spot, and I didn't know how to answer. Rictor nodded down a bit to Deino and gave me a look.

I sighed, "Alright, it's fine with me."

"YES!" Rictor yelled, pumping his fist into the air before recoiling and grabbing his side, trying to keep a straight face even though it showed he was still in pain.

"NO!" Cress yelled, smacking a hand to his forehead.

Rictor nearly pranced up to us and grinned.

"Looks like our little treaty worked out in my favor after all," he said with a grin, again reaching out to pet Deino.

The minute his hand was on the tiny dragon it woke up and latched onto his hand, biting down hard with a growl.

"Oh good Arceus! Come on! I'm the one who found you!"

I chuckled and turned around, whispering a 'good job' to my Deino.

Roma gave me an inquisitive stare before shaking her head and turning around.

"Alright guys," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "Here we go!"

* * *

**Rictor: YEEEEEESSS! *dances around then grimaces***


	33. Chapter 33: Stormer and Rictor's POVs

**Me: Why, hello there! So, most of you are probably wondering why Rictor hates hospitals. Well...*glances at Roma, who's trying to contain her laughter***

**Rictor: C'mon, it wasn't ****_that _****funny! *cross face***

**Roma: Ppffffftttttttt, yes it was! *laughs***

**Rictor: I am just so done. Read and review, please.**

**Me: Aww, he's just sour because a lot of people don't like him.**

**Rictor: I am not-**

**Me: Also, this has a bit of** **Goldstormshipping in it, for all you EveXStormer shippers! *fangirl squeal***

* * *

**Stormer's POV**

I paced back and forth in the Center room. Eva, the boys and Mistress had all dashed off after Mistress had come in (at about 3:30 in the morning), shouting about the gray-eyed mind reader being hurt. She'd looked frantic and hurriedly described that he'd gotten hit by a car and taken a bullet and needed to go to the hospital.

Mistress firmly instructed us (Eve and I) to guard their things until they returned. We'd agreed and soon after, Eve dozed off on Mistress' bed. I stopped pacing and sat on the floor, watching her sleep. She was spread out at the foot of the bed, her front paws stretched to one end and her back paws stretched to the other end. Her tail hung loose and limp but would wag on occasion.

Her torso was rising and falling slightly, in rhythm with my heart. Her fur cascaded all around her face and body messily, as it hadn't been washed or cut in a while, from what I could tell.

I leaped lightly onto Mistress' bed, hoping not to wake her. I laid down opposite her and had just closed my eyes when I felt a paw on mine. I opened one eye lazily to see green, green eyes staring into mine.

_"Do you need something, Eve?"_ I asked calmly, opening the other eye. Her face was calm but her eyes looked troubled. I got up and sat in front of her. She sat up and sighed.

_"Just got lonely, I guess. Needed some company." _she said. I nodded slightly and we walked over to the window. We both hopped up onto the sill, as my leg healed nicely and we sat there together, watching the sun rise high into the sky, our tails swinging in union.

_"When was the last time you had your fur cut?"_ I asked curiously. She looked at me like I was crazy then resumed looking out the window.

_"A few months, at the least. Why?" _she asked, not looking at me.

_"My original Master did some research specifically on..."_ I paused, biting my lower lip before continuing. _"Well, us. Pokemon with evolution symbiosis. He's the reason I have ES, why I'm here now, actually."_ I said bitterly. I looked at Eve, who was studying me calculatingly but also with a bit of understanding in her green eyes. Sadness, too. She looked away and I noticed that we were closer than we had been earlier. My tail would touch hers occasionally and she seemed pretty depressed.

_"I was brought up in a castle. It was huge and very, very pretty. I lived luxuriously there, with two human owners, a woman and a man. They were kind and their intentions were good but I hated their son. He was a monster, always experimenting on my reflexes and my scare factor. I could see in his eyes that he didn't really care, even though he swore to his parents that he was training me for something wonderful." _Eve had a bitterness in her voice that I'd not heard before. Now, I'd not been acquainted with Eve for a long time but I could tell this wasn't something she'd tell just anyone.

_"He grew up and his parents gave me to him as a present. I was to be his Guardian, make sure he wasn't hurt, ever. And I did my best. But about a week after he got me, he starting running tests again. But this time, they were serious. He would shock me with the electricity of a Jolteon, put me underwater in a Vaporeon's powerful Waterfall. _

_He would expose me to the hottest of a Flareon's flame and lava, would make me run all day and all night for every other day in a month and would expose me to some of the coldest weather known to man right after steamy jungles. It was torture in its finest, undercover as science."_ She dropped her head and I saw a tear fall to the windowsill. I moved closer and wrapped my tail around her.

_"If you don't want to tell me the rest, I'll start."_ I said soothingly. She shook her head.

_"You're sweet. But I've started, may as well finish it. He injected me with many chemicals and tortured me. One day, some agents from the local crime team, Team Rocket, came to his lab. They took everything from him, including me and the other Eeveelutions he had from personal travels. I did my best to fight but I was still very weak from the torture and when they shot me with an anesthetic, I was out cold. I woke up later, staring straight into the face of the head of Rocket, Giovanni._

_I went through more torture, worse than before, at the hand of this tyrant. I trained alongside another experiment, one he favored and called Mewtwo. It was more powerful than all other Pokemon I'd ever battled, and he is still my only ever loss. Mewtwo and I were friends and he taught me how to use offence as defence and an interesting battle strategy. He said he didn't need it, as he fought with psychic powers as opposed to brute force. _

_He taught me how to speak and write English, though I much prefer Roma being my translator. __Giovanni left me unguarded often and I used that to escape. I caught a special boat to the Unova region and met Roma there. We've been together the five years since. Actually, in just three more days, it'll be six. I met Roma a day before her birthday. She says I'm the best birthday present she ever got."_ Eve finished and looked at me, tears sparkling in her eyes. I wrapped my tail tightly around her and licked a tear off her face.

_"You know what they say, don't you Eve? What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. This is one of those times."_ I said gently. Eve was tough as a Druddigon on the outside but on the inside, she's a sweet as an Audino. I smiled and she lay down, yawning then falling asleep. I lay down with her and we fell asleep that way, my tail curled around her and my head resting next to hers.

* * *

**TIME SKIP: A COUPLE HOURS LATER**

**Rictor's POV**

In all reality, I was absolutely giddy at the prospect of travelling with Roma again. But that voice in my head (It's funny because I'm normally the voice) told me that this was not the day to mention it. Roma was edgy. She was lost in thought often and not even Eve could snap her out of that funk.

I couldn't blame her. We had just been through some nerve-wracking hours, all back to back. First, we reconnect and the awkwardness ensues. Then, the three Gym battles. Then, they got back to the Center for some sleep while I was out "exploring" and, around dawn (4 to 5 in the morning), I get hit by a car and shot at. Then we all had to suffer through that hellhole they call a hospital and, not helping anything, almost an hour after we returned to the Center for our stuff, Eve and Stormer, her grandfather called.

Roma and Ghetsis argued back and forth for a while before she excused herself and went to continue that outside, Eve and Stormer insistently following. We had finished packing the green haired boy's two backpacks and were just waiting. Nervous and nomad-like as always, I had collapsed in a chair and was bouncing my leg nervously. Roma's lover boy had also collapsed into a chair and we were uncomfortably close (read: anywhere within a 8-foot radius). We were all anxious and it didn't help that we were all in a confined space without a peacemaker.

Chili and Eva fussed over the Deino and I must admit, it was quite amusing for some time. It seems that Deino had an appetite for all male human fingers, not just mine. Chili figured that out the hard way, as he tried to hold Eva's hand and Deino decided it was a teething toy. Chili leaped up and shouted a few explicit words and I grinned and chuckled.

Eva's mind held mixed reactions about several things at the moment. Unluckily for me, she was not even considering that Roma didn't belong with Cress (they insist on calling him that, but I prefer lover boy) but she was considering that Cress did in fact steal Roma from me. She was unsure on how to deal with Deino, as she already loved him but he terrorized her boyfriend. Not to mention the fact that we now had an uneasy treaty because of him.

Eva yawned and said she felt a little sleepy. I immediately stopped reading her thoughts and made a mental note to check that out. Lover boy had been staring up into space up until Chili's shouted profanities then he returned to Earth but remained to himself.

"Do you know what they're talking about, mind reader?" I heard him ask. I didn't acknowledge him, but took his nickname for me into consideration. Maybe, just this once...

"Rictor." I looked up at the green hair connoisseur blankly. He flashed a gloating smile at lover boy who rolled his eyes.

"So, having the ability to look into minds and all, do you think you could-" Cilan started.

"No." I said, cutting him off. He raised an eyebrow at me and Eva asked, "Why not?" I flinched slightly at her question.

"I...I can't." I said quietly. Eva had a look of aggravation on her face.

"Whaddaya mean, you can't?!" she asked, glaring at me. "I know you do it all the time to me. Why not Roma?" I interested myself in the carpet at that point.

"Some sort of mind reader code or something?" Cress questioned sarcastically. I tilted my head towards him.

"Kind of." I answered shortly. Eva was about to ask something else when the door clicked open. I tensed, then relaxed as I saw it was my beloved.

"Apparently, we're skipping Pinwheel Forest and Skyarrow Bridge, sorry guys. Grandfather insisted that we ride those Arceus-forsaken devices to Castelia. Says he wants to talk to Rictor. Alone." I could swear I saw a look of pity in her eyes as she said that. I gulped, praying that this man was not as much of a tyrant as Roma made him out to be through our travels.

* * *

**Me: DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNN!**

**Roma: Knock it off, we know how this is going to end.**

**Me: Yes, but the readers don't! *evil laughter* MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I'LL RULE THE WOOORRRLLLDDD!**

**Roma: A-I'm pretty sure that's Grandfather's job. B-WHO GAVE THE AUTHOR RED TAUROS?! **

**Me: REVIEW!**


	34. Chapter 34: Eva, Matt, Eva

**Me (pokeninja6600): Here we are! Poke-Lover's chapter, here it is!**

**Rictor: I...**

**Roma: Don't worry...He's got a heart...Kind of...**

**Emerald: Ah, oh dear, LEAVING NOW!**

* * *

**Eva's POV**

"You alright Roma?" I asked, watching the silver haired girl bite her fingernails, her foot tapping nervously on the metal floor of the helicopter.

She paused, her entire body going still before her eye flicked to me, "How do you think Ghetsis will react?"

I sighed. I had figured that was the cause of her worry. Ghetsis would meet Rictor, and if I knew the green haired tyrant of a man as well as I thought, it wouldn't turn out well. Ghetsis had his mind set on Cress becoming King someday, so much so that he had commenced the training when we were at the castle. And now that Rictor seemed to be a kink in his plan, I could only guess that he wouldn't react to this news well.

"I don't know Roma."

She went back to chewing on her nail, her foot tapping even faster. I looked down at Deino who was happily perched in my arms still, his legs dangling out underneath my arms as he glanced out the window.

"So is Ghetsis going to meet us in Castelia?" I asked.

Roma paused as her face contorted, "I don't know, he didn't say whether or not he'd be there."

"Do you think the grunt flying this thing would know?"

She nodded, "Probably."

Roma shifted her way towards the front of the helicopter, pulling down the divider between the cockpit and where we were sitting. Much to my surprise our pilot was actually female.

The woman looked surprised, jumping slightly as Roma stuck her head through the opening.

"How can I help ya?" the woman asked.

For a moment I paused, taking in her appearance. She had strikingly green hair, and that caught me off guard. Not many people had green hair. I was pulled out of my thoughts as Roma spoke up.

"Um, do you know if Ghetsis is meeting us in Castelia?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, he'll be there." She then shook her head, "Though I personally think that's a bit of a risk, since he has hundreds of people who want him dead."

Roma nodded before her eyebrow rose, "Do I know you?"

The woman looked back to Roma before glancing back out the front of the machine we were currently on, "No, I don't think we've met before, I'm Emerald."

Roma nodded, "Nice to meet you, I'm-"

"I know who you are, dear," Emerald added something under her breath before chuckling, cutting Roma off mid-sentence.

Roma blinked before nodding. Surely everyone in Team Plasma would know who she was.

"Um, another question. Why aren't the boys flying with us?"

Emerald smiled, "Ghetsis is more than a little worried about you and that Rictor kid, so he wants you separated. But he figured if Rictor was the only one away from the group you'd get suspicious, so he decided to separate you all by gender."

Roma plopped back down in her seat with her arms crossed, "He's so paranoid."

I laughed and so did Emerald.

"Don't worry Roma, Matt's the pilot, he's got them all taken care of," Emerald reassured.

**Matt's POV**

I swore if those two boys didn't shut up I would jump from this aircraft any moment.

"Why are you so smug?" the black haired boy asked, watching the blue haired gym leader carefully as he smiled to himself, eyes closed and head leaned back against the wall.

"No reason, I'm just thinking of what you'll look like after Ghetsis is done with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see."

My hand steadily and slowly reached back toward the divider. If I could just pull it up, I wouldn't have to listen to their arguing anymore.

"Hey!"

The voice was so loud I knew it was addressing me. I sighed.

"What?"

"What does this moron mean by 'when Ghetsis is done with me'?" the boy apparently named Rictor asked.

I sighed. I served my lord without complaint but I was definitely going to hold a grudge over this particular job. Take the boys to Castelia, it didn't sound too hard. But what I didn't know was that I would then be put through the torture of listening to them fight for a good hour and a half about everything under the sun, from Roma, to their differing movie opinions.

"Oh, so you're resorting to asking a Team Plasma member are you? Why don't you just read his mind?"

"Maybe I will!"

"Do it, then maybe I won't have to listen to your annoying voice anymore!"

I liked Cress, however now, even he was getting on my nerves.

"Oh jeez," Rictor squeaked.

"Hah, I guess you read his mind. He's pretty scary, isn't he?"

"That's Roma's grandfather? Now I know why she ran away." Rictor asked.

I glanced back at the boys to see Rictor's face looking dazed. He wasn't seriously reading my mind was he? But how else would he know what Ghetsis was like? I gulped. This kid was an odd one alright.

"Yep, that's him. And he doesn't like you. Imagine how scary he is when he's mad," Cress said, bursting into laughter at the end of his sentence.

"Nothing I can't handle," Rictor said, trying to sound brave.

"Oh please, you couldn't even handle a hospital."

"HEY! That topic is off limits!" Rictor added something too quietly to be heard.

I pinched the bridge of my nose; I would have a migraine by the time we arrived in Castelia at this rate.

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah!"

As the volume got louder in the back, my patience started to wear.

"Hey! You two better shut your mouths until we get there or I'm going to come back there and shut them for you!"

The voices in the back quieted immediately.

I blinked a few times, surprised at the volume I had achieved. I had never sounded so much like an angry parent in my life.

"And that's just one of his grunts," I heard Cress whisper, a tone of taunting in his voice.

I smacked my hand to my forehead. This was going to be a long ride.

**Eva's POV**

When our helicopter landed on the ground, I swore Roma's feet barely touched the ground as she flew outside.

I lumbered after her and groaned when the bright sunlight hit my eyes. I heard Deino let out a low growl too and smiled. We had sounded almost exactly the same.

"Ooh Eva, remember the first time we were in Castelia?"

I paused, blinking my surroundings into focus. In front of me was the first city I had been in when I had arrived in Unova. I had met Roma and Eve by the large fountain in the center of the city, and when the strange silver haired stranger had yanked me into the ocean when she saw an Officer Jenny I knew that I had gotten myself an interesting traveling partner.

"Yep," I said, smiling.

The wind whipped as the boys' helicopter floated to the ground to land next to ours. Chili, Cilan, Cress, and then Rictor hopped off, shielding their eyes as the blinding sunlight took them by surprise as well.

I saw movement and before I knew it a grunt had made his way off of the helicopter as well, followed by Emerald. I squinted, that was Matt. I couldn't help but smile. I hadn't really spent much time with him, but he seemed to be one of Roma's favorite people in the world.

"Matt!" Roma squealed as he made his way over to us, looking exasperated.

"I don't know how you guys deal with them all the time," he said, jerking his thumb at where Cress and Rictor were still butting heads, arguing with each other, not noticing what anyone else was doing.

"So… where's Ghetsis?" Roma asked.

Matt looked around, "I don't know, but he should be here soon to pick up Rictor."

An uneasy sound left Emerald's mouth as she backed toward the helicopter, "I'm gonna head on back," she said quickly, so fast in fact I had trouble understanding her as she jumped back into the cockpit of the device.

All of our eyes were focused on the black helicopter piloted by the odd green haired female as it took off, and so we didn't notice the small crowd sauntering towards us.

"Roma!"

We all jumped and turned back towards Castelia, finally noticing the group of about thirty people advancing toward us, all lead by none other than Ghetsis.

I looked to Rictor; he was already shaking in his boots.

"Hello Grandfather," Roma said hesitantly as he approached us.

Ghetsis didn't make any move to greet her as his visible eye quickly scanned over our group.

"So where's this boy?" he spat.

* * *

**Rictor: Oh, oh dear...**

**Me: *laughs maniacally* BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**


	35. Chapter 35: Rictor and Eve

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hello all the humans, aliens and possibly monsters reading this fanfiction! I hope you enjoy this latest installment in Roma's Story! Thank you for-**

**Roma: *shakes head* You. Need. To. STAAAAAAHPPPPPP!**

**Rictor: It is getting to be quite annoying, author.**

**Me: *sulks* Fiiiine...Okay, this'll be about Ricky-**

**Rictor: IT'S RICTOR!**

**Me: -'s interview/possible-seal-of-approval meeting with Ghetsis.**

**Roma: We can't call him Snuggie man anymore...*sadface* Oh well, you guys can read now and a happy End Of Grade testing week and MSL week to you! Or at least to most of the people here in the US, depending on time zoning and-**

**Me: HEY SPOILER ALERT! It'll also include some Roma narration.  
**

**Roma: *punches air* YES!**

* * *

**Rictor's POV**

The assistant's thoughts were thoroughly frightening and this man standing in front of me with practically an army behind him fulfilled all the boy's thoughts and more. He reminded me almost of Giovanni, my own adopted father. He walked with purpose and an air of complete confidence. It was frightening. If this was the man I grew up with as a grandfather, I would've run away as well.

"So, where's this boy?" the giant green haired man spat, his one visible red eye strafing through our crowd of six. His eye landed on me and I bit the inside of my cheek. I am tall and thin for my age and I probably about matched this man in height (it was hard to tell, as he was holding a cane and leaning on it) but he seemed to tower over everyone there. He had a red eyepiece over one of his eyes (which I assumed was either missing or scarred) and that made this imposing man even more intimidating.

I hesitated. "I believe I am the one you seek, sir," I bowed a little. "My name is Rictor." I said, straightening and looking him in the eye. His visible eye narrowed slightly and his posture stiffened slightly as well. I knew then that I had a made a mistake looking him in the eye, but I didn't drop my gaze. We remained that way for what seemed to be hours before he looked at our helicopter pilot and said, "Follow. Bring the boy." He then whirled around and walked towards one of the narrower alleyways.

I looked back at the group and Roma sent a faint reassuring smile in my direction but her eyes held worry. Cress sent a taunting glance my way and Eva, Chili and Cilan all looked nervous. Eva tightened her grip on Deino and sent me a warning look. I nodded and turned around, following after the giant crowd of bandit-looking Plasmanites.

* * *

We soon entered a building. It was bright and looked like a regular lobby. The man ordered that we be left alone and we headed up the stairs to another room. This room had a red desk, which he sat at and several other chairs. I didn't sit immediately, paranoia being my default setting.

"So, I've heard you've interfered with my plans to rule Unova, boy." the man said, lacing his fingers together and setting his elbows on the rather large dark red desk in the middle of the room. I tilted my head to one side a bit before interpreting his question.

"Correct me if I'm misinformed, sir. You wish lover boy- Cress, as you may know him- and my Roma to be wed so that she will be Queen. Am I correct so far?" He nodded, sitting back slightly and motioned for me to continue.

"You know that Cress is afraid of you and know that you can control him. He, in some ways, has a bit of power over Roma and is quite a tame boy. So, you wish them to be, in essence, figureheads. For them to appear on screens and such and you to be behind the scenes, almost as a puppet master. In that way, yes sir, I am interfering with your plans." I said. He nodded again.

"You are well informed, boy. It took me months to come up with that. Did the princessa tell you?" he inquired, looking at me oddly. I smiled slightly and shook my head.

"No sir. I grew up with Giovanni. I know the inner workings of most people's minds for more reasons than one." I answered. I shook some hair out of my face and returned my gaze to this man. He was staring at me coldly, calculatingly. It was almost like he could read my mind, ironically. Then he nodded and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

"Sit, boy. We have much to discuss."

* * *

**Eve's POV**

"Hate to tell you Roma, but we're not going to get anywhere with you pacing around a coffee shop," Chili commented, loosely pointing a styrofoam cup at her. Stormer and I were sitting on the table, to our server's displeasure, and all the humans were sitting around a circular, metallic looking table. Except Roma. Roma was pacing in a perfect square around four other circular tables. They couldn't hear it, but she was also muttering something to herself.

"Hey Roma," Eva suddenly piped up. Roma stopped pacing and looked up at her.

"So, how did you guys meet anyways? You and Rictor," she asked. Roma's seriousness melted away and she smiled. She looked over at Stormer and me. I nodded and leaped down to the cushy bench thing and laid down.

"You'll wanna listen. This story is very interesting." I said, looking up at Stormer. He smiled wolfishly at me and jumped down next to me. He laid down next to me, so close I could feel his body heat. Roma came over and sat down next to Cress. He didn't object; instead, smiling at her.

"Um, it was near the end of April and the beginning of May. I remember that much because it was five days after I'd turned eleven. Eve and I were headed to Kanto via boat and we knew we wouldn't know anyone there. We were newcomers, coming from Unova, a desolate region then. I was lucky to find a way to Kanto at all. I didn't want Eve to be trampled, so I held her in my arms, close to my chest." I remembered that. She had a death grip on me; no one could have touched me if they'd wanted to.

"I tried to blend into the crowd. It was getting dark out, the daylight already fading by the time I made it off the boat. During the journey, I had tied up my hair under a hat. Silver hair's pretty uncommon, if ya know what I mean. Plus, it stands out in dark backgrounds." she said, gesturing to her hair, which was in a single, thick braid down her back.

"Anyways, I was unrecognizable to anyone who wasn't looking for me. But he was looking for me. I stepped onto the platform, my eyes flickering around, making sure no one was following me. I walked off, as if I had to be somewhere. But I kept an eye on one boy. He had jet hair and what seemed to be gray eyes the color of steel. But, of course not, I was just being paranoid, I told myself.

"I wasn't being tailed; it was impossible. But I kept hearing a rustle in the trees above me. Eventually, once I was out of busy territory, I stopped and looked up. 'Who are you?' I called into the trees. No answer. I opened my mouth to call out again but then a boy's face appeared out of the dark, upside down and just a few inches from my face." I smiled and laid my head on my paws. I remembered this like it was yesterday.

"Deja vu-ish, eh?" Cilan said. Roma nodded.

"He loved doing that. Actually, anything with trees. Rictor loves flying types and he'd scale trees and throw himself from branch to branch, literally flying through the night sky, laughing like a maniac. Aerial tricks were his favorite things to show me. He'd be constantly observant of Scyther (Scizor was still a Scyther at the time) and always learning new tricks from him. Although, it was from one of these "tricks" that Rictor got his fear of hospitals," she paused, giggling. Roma looked at me.

"Remember that?" she asked, glee dancing in her eyes as she relived their meeting. I nodded.

"You betcha." I responded. She laughed and looked at the other guys. The boys and Eva were entranced by the story. It was almost funny. I glanced over at Stormer. He had a childish look of eagerness in his eyes and his tail was swishing loosely back and forth.

"Keep going Mistress!" he whined. She smiled and continued.

"He put a finger to his lips. He was hanging from a branch with just his knees and his eyes were level with mine. I got a good look at him and his eyes were, in fact, steel-gray. He was hanging upside down so his hair was flowing, waterfall-like, down towards the ground. It held a stark contrast to the beautiful background. This odd boy's face was streaked with dust and dirt but his eyes were bright, active and alert, almost cocky. I was distracted and he stole my hat. I screamed and put my hands on top of my head. He flipped himself right back up into the tree and put my hat on. He smiled at me, showing bright white teeth. He only spoke to me once until we formally met. It was right then. He said,"

"Catch me if you can, darling." a smooth, dark voice purred. We all looked behind us to see a gray eyed, black-haired mind reader we'd just heard about. Rictor. The background was exactly like the night we all met for the first time. It was autumy outside and the trees around were shifting shades of purple, red, orange and yellow. He smiled, showing those white teeth I'd seen so often during our travels. "If I remember right, that is." He sauntered over to our table, windswept hair falling slightly into his face.

"You left out a part, sweetheart." he said, gesturing slightly to his feet. Roma made a face, remembering.

"That's right. He wasn't wearing shoes. It amazed me. He leapt nimbly from tree to tree, no shoes on, laughing freely, for over an hour. Then we made it to a Poke Center and he stopped. I made it to the door and he was standing right there, not looking exhausted in the least, and still wearing my hat." Roma's eyes held amusement but still a bit of anger. He looked at her.

"My turn, hm sweetheart?" he asked, brushing some locks out of his face. Roma nodded and sat back, leaning against Cress and closing her eyes. A pained look crossed Rictor's face before he pulled up a chair from another table and sat down on the end of the table opposite my princess. Sitting down backwards in it, he laid his arms on the table and crossed them.

"She glared at me. She held out her hand for her hat. I shook my head. I had obtained a marvelous blue and white flower near the sea. At that moment, I held it behind my back. I bit my tongue, hoping against hope that she would like it. I held it out to her, the stem between my fingers and the actual flower cupped in my palm. I looked at the ground, not willing to see her reaction, if it was good or bad. She plucked it gently from my hand and put it in her hair. I looked up at her, daring to hope. She smiled at me." he paused, coughing slightly.

"She told me her name. I swore I'd remember that name forever. I did. I never forgot her name. I traveled with and battled countless people and I have long since forgotten them, how they spoke, what they looked like, what Pokemon they used. But all throughout my travels, I never once forgot her name." he said quietly, looking down at his fingers.

"Only because I constantly reminded you, you dork." Roma mumbled without opening her eyes. His gaze shifted up to look at her and I saw a young boy once again, not frightened of anything in the world except hurting his girl's feelings. He hurt himself too many times for her entertainment. Many, many nights we would sit together in mutual silence, watching Roma sleep. On the nights she had nightmares, he would hold her close and sing softly to her until the dreams were either peaceful or nonexistent. He loved her; there was no room for any other girl in his mind. She was, is, his entire world.

But he got hurt, for real. And she said we had to leave, she couldn't stand having him hurt anymore. That was his second trip to the hospital. That's the real reason he hates them. Because she left and he's afraid if he lets her out of his sight ever again, she'll never come back; he'll never be able to find her again. How do I know this? Well, getting to know him helped. Then there's the fact that Eevees are incredibly sensitive.

* * *

**Me: HEEEEYY! Ricky _does_ have a heart!**

**Rictor: *stares unrelentingly at Eve* How...How did you...could you...I-**

**Me: Well, only a filler, but MAN, I LOVE THIS FLUFF! I WILL DROWN YOU IN IT! I WILL DROWN YOU IN DA FLUFFS! BYYYYEEEEEEE!**


	36. Chapter 36: Ghetsis and Eva

**Me (pokeninja6600): Omigosh *faints* How could anyone ever write this gooooooooodddd?**

**Roma: *chuckles* It's a nice chapter, I'll admit.**

**Rictor: *grin***

**Me: SEE! EVEN ROMA LIKED IT! READ!**

* * *

**Ghetsis' POV**

"Alright, I guess we're done here. Send my regards to Roma," I said quickly, shuffling the papers on the desk around in front of me.

Rictor nodded quickly, doing a small and sloppy bow before practically running out of the room. The door shut behind him quietly, barely making a sound and I sighed, finally relaxing back into my chair. But the relief was short lived. I had fully expected to hate this boy. He was getting in my way, and impairing my plan toward having Cress become the next King. I knew in the end whoever Roma chose to be with would be the King, however I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that person was Cress. I had already started my training with him, and he seemed like a perfect fit. Gentlemanly, most likely able to command other people, and the apple of Roma's eye.

However since the meeting I had with Rictor, I found myself beginning to rethink the idea of Cress becoming King. From what I had heard from the black haired boy, he had known Roma for longer than anyone else that was traveling with her at the moment. He made it strikingly clear that he loved her, and would do everything in his power to make sure she was safe and happy at all times.

Quite honestly, I didn't really care about which was a better match for Roma. She seemed to care about them both now, and so I figured either one would do. However when it came to who would be given the Harmonian throne, I needed to choose wisely. Cress was a perfect fit, yes, but there was something that was missing with him. I hadn't ever been able to put my finger on it until this meeting with Rictor. Cress lacked drive. He lacked enthusiasm and life. He would be a good King by the books, however a great King needed a personality to fit.

I couldn't help but smile to myself as I stood up from my chair. Rictor reminded me of myself. He had life in his eyes and a fire in his heart. He was bound and determined to win Roma over, and something told me he would be just as determined to win over the title of King as well if he was presented with it.

I snapped my fingers, sauntering toward the door to the small lobby-like room we had met in. The small Plasma base set up across from the Castelia City Gym was still up and running, even though no one knew. I was rather opposed to the small area, now rather run down, but it made a perfect spot to have a meeting such as the one that had just taken place.

Two grunts appeared at my side almost immediately and shoved the doors in front of me open. I gave them each a nod before exiting and stepping out onto the busy and crowded streets of Castelia City. The bug type Gym across the way was shining just as bright as it had two years ago.

I scoffed, again wondering how idiotic these people had to be to not realize Team Plasma had a base set up only a few yards away from the most popular building in Castelia.

"Are we ready for departure?" I asked, lazily looking back at one of the grunts, which just happened to be Matt, my most trusted assistant.

He nodded, "Yes sir. But I must ask; weren't you going to meet with Roma, at least talk about what you thought of Rictor?"

I shook my head, "No, I figure she'll call me sooner or later out of curiosity. I suppose the Rictor boy will tell her everything, and if he does I think it's only a matter of time before she breaks down and asks me what I thought of him."

Matt blinked twice, almost freezing in place before he spoke up again. "I was told he could read minds, Sire. If so, he can probably tell her exactly what you thought of him."

I cracked a smile and turned to our right, walking back out toward the piers where the helicopter was still parked. "No. I was told the same thing but by the way he was acting, and the way he answered questions, either he can't read minds, or he chose not to."

"Really?!" Matt practically yelled, jogging after me to keep up with my long strides.

I nodded, deciding not to say anything further.

"Um, just out of curiosity sir…" Matt trailed off and I peered down at him out of the corner of my eye. He looked nervous. "What did you think of him?"

I let out a deep chuckle, Matt was getting curious faster than I had suspected. "I don't quite have my mind made up about him yet," I started, my mind wandering for a second, again rehashing my conversation with the boy. "But I think he's similar to all Harmonian men. In other words, I think we'll get along just fine."

**Eva's POV**

I couldn't help the small frown that tugged down at the corners of my mouth. Yes, the story had been sweet and touching, and yet something about it made my stomach clench. Hearing about how close Roma and Rictor used to be made my heart ache, but not for either one of them. For Cress. I could tell by the look in Roma's eyes that she was slowly starting to make her decision, and that decision would undoubtedly be the boy that I had only met a few days ago.

However I did feel almost excited inside at the thought of Roma and Rictor finally getting together. It was more than a little obvious that Rictor had waited a long time for this, and I had to admit, even though I didn't like it, I was happy for him.

Roma sighed, opening her eyes and shoving off of Cress so she could sit up. She stretched, yawning slightly before she addressed Rictor.

"So, how'd it go?"

She sounded calm and yet I could year the underlying nervousness.

Rictor waved his hand around in the air slightly, clearing any apprehension we had.

"It went well, I think."

Roma made a face, "What do you mean, 'you think'?"

"Yeah, didn't you just read his mind like the creeper you are?" Cress butted in, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table.

Rictor shot Cress a glare before taking a deep breath. "Not exactly…"

"Why not?!" Roma asked, her eyes the size of the saucers our cups of coffee were sitting on.

Rictor looked almost irritated, "Well, apparently the little mental block I have with you is a family thing," Rictor said, watching Roma intently.

"Eh?" she squeaked.

"I couldn't read his mind. Everything was fuzzy and I couldn't make anything out. So apparently it is a Harmonian thing? I guess?"

Roma nodded to herself, "I guess that'd make sense, though it does make it harder to try and figure out what he thought of you."

Rictor shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Come on, we have three badges with our names on them." With a winning smile he stood up, holding out his hand and helping Roma to her feet. She half-heartedly thanked him, her mind still focused on the meeting between her grandfather and Rictor. I could tell that she was going to be focused on that for a while to come.

I sighed, adjusting my grip on Deino before standing up as well. Roma shuffled out the door first, followed by Cress, Cilan and his two bulging backpacks, and Chili. I shoved the door open, but just as I was about to exit I felt something yank me back.

I stumbled back into the café, nearly dropping Deino in the process and whirled around to glare at the culprit.

"What the hell, man?" I hissed, glaring at Rictor.

His eyes flicked to the glass door of the café where all of our traveling companions had already disappeared, apparently oblivious that we were missing.

"He liked me," Rictor said, a wide and Cheshire cat-like grin spreading across his face.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head. What was he talking about?

"Ghetsis. He liked me."

My eyes slowly widened as his statement sunk in, "What? I thought you said you didn't know!"

Rictor's grin stayed firmly in place, "I wasn't able to read his mind, but I could tell he liked me. I just didn't want to come right out with it around Roma. I didn't know how she'd react."

My gaze dropped to the floor and once again a frown took up residence on my face. So Ghetsis, the man who was probably the hardest person to please in the entire world, liked Rictor. I had thought it would be impossible. I had figured when Ghetsis would meet with Rictor, there would be some yelling, maybe a few punches thrown, and in the end, Rictor would be forced by Roma's oh-so-protective grandfather to go back to wherever he came from. But I had been wrong.

"Listen, I know you were hoping he'd put me in my place and then you wouldn't feel guilty about still hoping for Roma to end up with Cress; but it did go well. Maybe you should take it as a sign that I'm really not that bad."

I glanced to Rictor who almost looked like he was pleading.

In that moment I had an internal battle. Up until this point I had been making a very lengthy mental pros and cons list for Cress and Rictor. They both seemed about even, but this undoubtedly to put Rictor in the lead. I glanced down at Deino. Rictor had given him to me in a peace offering and I had to admit I didn't feel as much animosity toward the raven haired trainer since then, but I still wasn't sure. But now that Ghetsis had supposedly approved I realized I had nothing that I could oppose Rictor with. He loved Roma, Roma loved him, he was a good person, he was a talented trainer, he obviously had a heart if he did some of the things he said he had, including giving me Deino, and now Ghetsis approved. I had nothing holding me back from wholeheartedly supporting Rictor, and as another grin spread across his face I knew he knew I didn't as well.

"Alright, you win," I mumbled.

Rictor nodded, "I knew you'd eventually see it my way."

I nodded and turned to leave now that we were a good ways behind our traveling group.

"Hey Eva."

I turned around to see Rictor had his hand outstretched toward me.

"Maybe now that you don't hate me so much we can actually be friends? I know that'd make Roma happy," he said, his grin turning into a smaller, genuine smile.

I glanced down at his hand, contemplating for a moment. If I did this, if I officially agreed that he had won, and agreed to try and get along with him, there was no going back.

I sighed and reached my arm forward too, clasping it in his and shaking once.

With that we both turned toward the door again, but before we left I sent him one last warning.

"This is for Roma's sake, Rictor. Not yours."

I glanced back over my shoulder and saw him nod.

"I know, but hopefully in the future it'll be for both Roma and I."

I rolled my eyes and shoved through the door. This boy just never gave up.

* * *

**Rictor: *punches air* AAAAAND PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF! HAHA!**

**Roma: *flat tone* I haven't decided yet, Ricky.**

**Rictor: *thinks then laughs* Not yet...But watch out Cress! *goes off to train***

**Me: *chuckles* He has no idea the thing I have in store for you guys...**

**Roma: Ahm...Mind reader?**

**Me: Eh, still. MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!**


	37. Chapter 37: Roma and Cilan

**Me (pokeninja6600): *taps fingers together schemingly***

**Roma: That's not a word.**

**Me: A-Shut up. B-...MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Roma: Why are you so evil lately?**

**Me: Whelp, a couple of reasons really but I don't want to take up any more valuable reading/writing time with my weirdness-**

**Roma: THANK ARCEUS!**

**Me: So you can all read now! Here we go! *throws a Poke ball that transitions to the story***

* * *

**Roma's POV**

I bounced my leg up and down with nervous energy. I was pretty tense; my Gym Battle with Castelia's own Burgh was mere moments away. I looked down at Stormer to see he was just as hyped up as I was. I smiled slightly; my energy was rubbing off on him. My tuxedo boy was running around in circles, chasing his too-fluffy tail around and around.

Suddenly, the sliding door to the Gym Leader's quarters opened. I looked up a couple seconds after they opened to find myself staring straight into the green eyes of Gym Leader Burgh. I shouted out in alarm and toppled backwards out of the chair I was previously sitting in.

"Woah! Roma, are you okay?" Cress asked, dashing over. I rubbed a sore spot on my head where I'd hit it against a different piece of furniture. I probed a spot and inhaled sharply, finding out the hard way that was a sore spot. I grunted and stood up. I looked to Burgh, who eyes sparkled with a look of slight amusement.

"So sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you," he commented. He turned to Cress with a mischievous light in his eye.

"So Cress...Are you two, um, an item?" he asked, gesturing to me slightly. I noticed color brush across Cress' face as he nodded. Burgh nodded knowingly.

"I see. She's a pretty one, Cress." he said. Then Burgh looked at me. He leaned in slightly towards me and whispered, "He's a catch." Cress shifted on his feet nervously and I noticed his brothers trying to contain their laughter. I smiled and chuckled a bit.

"He is, isn't he?" I said with a wink towards Cress. I shook some hair out of my face and placed a hand on my hip.

"So, we gonna battle or what, Burgh?" I asked, eager to earn this Badge. Burgh straightened up and nodded.

"You've got spunk too! Truly a shame you're taken." he said with a grin.

"Ah, you feel my pain then," a dark voice purred from behind me. I didn't even have to turn around to know it was Rictor. I glanced over my shoulder to see both of my raven haired companions, Eva and Rictor, standing in the Gym doorway. Rictor had a triumphant grin on his face and Eva looked ready to hurt him. Ricky glanced around as he walked over to my left.

"Quite a creative place, if I may say so." he commented, gesturing to the room. I rolled my eyes and nudged him in the side.

"You're just trying to get first dibs at battle!" I complained. He chuckled and shrugged.

"Ah, whaddaya gonna do?" he asked, imitating a movie actor we'd seen one time. Burgh looked at us both. He tapped a finger to his chin.

"So, are you two brother and sister then?" he asked, pointing from me to Rictor then back to me. I glanced over at Eva (who had previously walked over to stand with Chili and Cilan) and the triplet boys. All the reactions were the same: utter shock. Rictor, always the better one at thinking on his feet, took it in stride. He laughed a bit as he put his arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah! How'd you guess?" he lied. I looked at him in alarm. He looked at me and nodded slightly, his eyes meeting mine. He squeezed my shoulders, gray eyes twinkling. I shoved him off like a little sister would to an older brother and huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Do that again and I'm telling mom, Rictor!" I said, putting a spoiled-brat tone into my voice and a pout to my lips. Rictor flicked some hair out of his face and grinned.

"You know Roma, you keep saying that, but you've never actually told mom!" he said lightly, a faint smile playing on his face. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Burgh.

"So, how about that battle!" I said, rubbing my hands together, anxious. Burgh smiled.

"That's what I like to hear!" he said. He clapped his hands together and opened the door to the battle room. Finally!

**Cilan's POV**

We all followed Burgh and a very excited Roma into the battle room. I noticed Rictor was completely unfazed by anything that happened during that very awkward moment; in fact, he seemed to enjoy it! On the other hand, Roma was rather unhappy with him for the moment, shooting him a glare I'd hate to have aimed at me as we walked into the room. She got her hype back, however, when she got into the Trainer Box made for Gym Battles.

I looked closely at the both of them, putting aside everything I knew about either Trainer. In physical features, they were pretty similar. High arching eyebrows, clear, slightly tan skin and thick hair to frame an angular face and bright eyes. They stood at about the same height (Rictor was just barely taller) and I noticed off the top of my head that they both wore clothing to match their hair colors. Rictor, from what I'd seen so far, commonly wore either black or deep purple. While Roma wore those colors also, she had a little more color to her outfit, especially today, which was a short sleeved blue T-shirt with black lettering that said, "Love My Eevees" and light brown shorts that reached her knees.

Snapping me out of my thoughts, "Stormer, finish it with Blizzard!" Roma called. I looked up towards the battle field just in time to see Stormer release a force of nature on the doubly weak Leavanny. Burgh sighed in defeat, knowing there was no way his weakened Pokemon could possibly dodge the giant snowstorm headed at it. I glanced over at Roma, who was smiling triumphantly.

She nearly pranced over to Burgh to receive her Insect Badge. From what I could tell, Burgh also gave her a TM. I squinted but couldn't quite see what it was. I gave up, stretched and stood up. Chili looked at me funny.

"Why're you getting up?" he asked. I looked at my watch.

"It's past closing time. I'm sure he'll send us back to a Poke Center since it's after hours." I said. Cress chuckled. Chili and I both gave him a strange look.

"What was that about?" I asked. Cress smiled a bit and relaxed in his chair.

"Well, Eva's not going to be too happy about that," he said, smiling. Then he nudged Chili in the side. "Have fun dealing with that." he commented. Chili sweat dropped and seemed to sink down in his seat.

"Why me?" he whimpered.

"You're her boyfriend!" Cress and I responded simultaneously, grinning. Cress stood up alongside me and Chili stood up reluctantly, probably hoping Eva would be too tired to care about not being able to battle Burgh. We were navigating our way through the battle seats. A joyous howl drew all of our attention. I looked behind me and a flash of gold and silver whizzed in between me and Chili, causing both of us to stumble and fall in opposite directions. Unfortunately for Cress, that was the direction Chili stumbled in so both of them went tumbling to the ground.

"Get off of me!" Cress grunted, shoving Chili off him. I had grabbed a chair, saving me from a very embarrassing and painful spill, luckily. I closed my eyes and shook my head, regaining my balance. When I opened my eyes, I saw a raven haired Rictor helping Chili up (easier said than done, I'm telling you...). He and Cress scowled at each other and Cress got up himself. Rictor turned to me.

"You okay? I apologize; Roma entrusted care of Eve to me while she battled and well, she kinda got away from me," he trailed off, scratching the back of his head sheepishly and casting his gaze to the ground. Chili smiled at him.

"It's alright Rictor, everyone makes mistakes!" he said. Rictor smiled gratefully at Chili and nodded towards me. He turned to look down at Roma, who now had two very happy Eevees crawling all over her. She looked like she was laughing and it didn't take a Pokemon translator to tell that both the Eevees were happy too. Eva was down there, relishing in Roma's joy at winning. Cress went to go congratulate her and Chili went down to have an excuse for being hyper. I had started down when I heard Rictor say something so softly I couldn't hear.

"Beg your pardon?" I asked.

"It wasn't always this way," I heard Rictor mutter.

"Mm?" I asked, confused. From what I'd seen, there were only two sides of the emotion spectrum that Roma was capable of having and both were the extremes. Rictor nodded distractedly.

"She wasn't always this happy after battles. They were too easy for her; the only reason she was able to get out of bed somedays was because Eve and I would remind her of her ultimate goal." he said softly, still looking down at the silver haired girl. He sighed and looked over at me.

"Finding her father was the ultimate goal. Not being Champion at all. Just finding her father, the very same one who abandon her in the first place for a dream he could never obtain." he said, his gray eyes soft. He looked back down at Roma, who now had her arms thrown around Cress. He flinched slightly. The silver haired girl glanced up at us and gestured towards the door.

"C'mon guys! Burgh says we have to leave!" she shouted up at us. We both nodded. I could see that Rictor attempted a smile. I could also see it didn't reach his eyes. He sighed softly before yawning.

"Not even I can go for forty eight hours straight. I need some sleep. How about you, connoisseur?" Rictor asked, glancing sideways at me with an eyebrow raised. I smiled and nodded; he was back.

"Yes, sleep is a wonderful thing, Rictor." I said, yawning also. We made our way down to our group. Roma ignored the fact that Rictor couldn't control Eve but I got a feeling he would hear about it later. We said farewell to Burgh (I noticed Cress stood as far from the man as possible. I don't know why.) Rictor challenged the girls to a race to the Center and they willingly agreed. Chili, as hyper as always, chased after them. Cress and I chased after them.

We skidded to a halt before the door. A very dazed looking Rictor was laying on the floor, opposite a purple haired girl. Eva was helping the one girl and Roma was helping Rictor up. I looked carefully at the girl. I gasped in surprise. Everyone looked at me.

"Burgundy!"

* * *

**Me: So...Long...Oh my Arceus...**

**Roma: *leans forward* Ooh! Burgundy! This is gonna get _goooood_! *rubs hands together eviliy***

**Me: That's not a word.**

**Roma: *sweat drop* My own words against me...*sigh***

**Rictor: *rubs head* Oww...**

**Emerald: *pops head in door* Review!**


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